The role of the high representative of the union for foreign affairs and security policy

Abstract

When the Treaty on European Union (TEU) signed at Maastricht in 1991 established the common foreign and security policy (CFSP) on a formal and legally binding basis, it retained the primary responsibility of the presidency for its formulation, for its implementation and for the external representation of the European Union (EU) on the international plane. It was, however, soon apparent that there were two disadvantages in this method - a lack of continuity resulting from the six-monthly rotation of Presidencies having different foreign affairs experience and objectives, and a low level of recognition internationally for the Union's representative and by extension for its foreign policy.