EMFA
Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and the new High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton discussed the development of the European Union External Action Service and the unity of European Union foreign policy in a telephone conversation.

Paet stressed that the formation of a common foreign service will help the European Union’s foreign policy to function more effectively. “The implementation of an effective foreign service will provide support to the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and help the European Union have more coherent external communication,” said Paet. “We would like for the diplomats of all member states to be represented in the External Action Service, and that one of it functions will be providing consular protection for European Union citizens,” Paet emphasised.

Paet and Ashton both stressed that the European External Action Service will help to increase the unity of the European Union Common Foreign and Security Policy and ensure the better co-ordination of the EU’s external activities. “The development of European Union Eastern Partnership and relations with our close neighbours, and also joint decisions to participate in missions—for example the EU’s contribution in Afghanistan—will certainly be implemented more effectively as the foreign service is developed,” Paet asserted.

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