Fourteen European states want stronger EU diplomatic service

(DUBLIN) - Fourteen European Union nations, including Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland, on Saturday called for a strengthening of the EU's fledgling and often-criticised diplomatic service.

Set up in 2010 and headed by Britain's Catherine Ashton, the European External Action Service (EEAS) "should be further strengthened" in the interests of a "coherent, comprehensive and integrated" EU foreign policy, the 14 EU states said in a joint paper.

The proposals were discussed by EU foreign ministers at two days of talks in Dublin as part of a contribution to a reform of the diplomatic service that will be put to the bloc's leaders in July.

The EEAS was set up under the Treaty of Lisbon in order to help the bloc speak with a single voice on the world stage. It now has 140 delegations worldwide.

But the blurring of responsibilities between it and other existing EU services -- dealing with development, enlargement or humanitarian aid for instance -- have irritated EU nations, which at times themselves struggle to find common ground, while Ashton too has been urged to take a higher profile.

"The most important reforms are about ensuring that when we look back, that we've got the right inter-institutional framework," Ashton said at a news conference.

"I often talk about flying a plane without any wings while you're building the wings at the same time," she added. "Now we've got the plane, we need to make sure it can really soar."