The group would include the EEAS’ former secretary-general, Belén Martínez Carbonell, who has delayed taking up a new role as head of the EU delegation in Mexico to advise Ollongren. Senior EEAS official Charles Fries is also set to contribute, according to the officials and the diplomat.
The push seeks to give the EEAS more control over a reform debate that could determine whether the service remains a distinct part of the EU’s foreign policy machinery or becomes more closely integrated into the Commission.
The Franco-German plans, set out in a paper seen by POLITICO, include moving much of the EEAS staff into the EU executive. Although they call for reinforcing Kallas’ formal role, her allies see them potentially allowing von der Leyen’s Commission to take greater control of foreign policy.
The EEAS currently straddles the Council and the Commission: Kallas works with national governments in the Council, where foreign policy decisions are made, while the service coordinates with the Commission on its external-facing work.
Kallas signaled her concern about the plans on Wednesday, saying a “majority” of EU foreign ministers had opposed the institutional change.
In recent days, in addition to the Franco-German discussion paper on the EEAS, 11 capitals including Paris and Berlin signed an open letter to Kallas calling for more efficient decision-making in EU foreign policy.