The Permanent Representatives to the EU: Going Native in the European Field?

Abstract

Situated at the interface between national and European institutions (government and ministries, the other permanent representations, the EU Council), the permanent representations of the member states to the European Union are institutional spaces in which multiple mediation processes occur. Representatives are part of national diplomacy and require skills in inter-governmental negotiations and European expertise. Endowed with the status of ambassadors, permanent representatives (PRs) who manage and steer the representations have various and changing roles (as a governmental agent, a national representative, a European partner). Their formal mission and ambassador status notwithstanding, little attention has thus far been devoted to the career trajectories of the permanent representatives, their resources (beyond those conferred upon them by their state’s representation), or more simply to the question of how Europe affects their careers. This lack of knowledge is remarkable, as the scientific literature and commentators of the EU consider PRs as central to decision-making processes.