EU Commission considers supercharged department for foreign relations

The European Commission is considering combining several units into one powerful department for external relations, three EU officials told POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook.

The idea — one of several options being considered to boost the Commission’s external-facing policy units — would be to maximize the EU executive’s external-policy reach, in keeping with the aims of a “large-scale review” being led by Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin.

A supercharged department for external relations could include elements, in whole or in part, of DG TRADE or DG MENA, the department in charge of Middle East and North Africa policy. Other options under consideration include reorganizing departments along geographic or thematic lines, according to the officials, who were granted anonymity to discuss confidential plans.

Some of this thinking is due to be shared with Commission employees during an all-staff meeting on July 13, with commissioners to be briefed in subsequent weeks.

Asked about the plans, a Commission spokesperson wrote in an email: “This review is an important internal exercise for the institution. It is about making the organization stronger, more agile and better equipped to service European citizens in a rapidly changing world.”

Under President Ursula von der Leyen, the Commission has taken steps to bolster its foreign-policy credibility, leading to friction with the European External Action Service, which is headed by top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas.

Kallas is also taking steps to strengthen the EEAS, having recently unveiled a new leadership structure, which includes former Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren as secretary-general, replacing Belén Martínez Carbonell. Further reforms are expected to be unveiled after the summer.