The European External Action Service: Increasing Coherence in the Crisis Management of the European Union?
The violent eruption of the Libya crisis and the seemingly uncoordinated reaction of the international community highlighted once more that efficient crisis management needs to grasp a situation in all its complexity, before being able to act appropriately: The legitimacy of any intervention is crucial for its success, and therefore an international mandate, a coherent approach and a sensible combination of civilian and military means are indispensable. The European External Action Service was envisioned as the main tool to enable the EU to act in accordance with these international diplomatic