The establishment of the EEAS has brought important changes to the interaction between national and EU components of European foreign policy, in a moment in which the overall institution of diplomacy is told to undergo a steady process of change. The paper investigates ways in which the EU navigates broader changes in diplomatic practices from the organizational and institutional points of view. First, it outlines the emergence of the EEAS as the result of a number of compromises between the actors involved in its creation. Second, it explores the institutional sinews of the Service and the nature of its hybridity. The third section considers the Service from the perspective of organizational culture. Finally, the concluding section looks down the road for how the Service might develop post-review if it is to thrive as an organization.
