Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 05/2011

The Future of Diplomacy: European and Global Challenges

Ondřej Horký

February 2011

Institute of International Relations Prague

Abstract

As identified by the participants of the 1st Czech-French Forum of Young Talents, diplomacy needs to face globalization, geopolitical shifts, the call for transparency and budgetary restrictions. The diplomat has to act as a manager and interpreter of knowledge in a world characterized by an overflow of information. The need for a strong and effective EU diplomacy is not disputed but the European interest has not been clearly defined so far. The European External Action Service seems to offer an institutional setting that will help to articulate the European interest through everyday practice.