EU diplomacy at 27: united in diversity?

This paper explores the role played by the newly created European External Action Service as an instrument of cooperation for EU foreign policy. Using two‐dimensions spatial modelling to represent decision making at 27 in a unanimity rule Foreign Affairs Council, it highlights the role of agenda‐setting, while acknowledging the importance of saliency and coalition sizes. It confirms the notion that it is in the interest of less influential Member States to free ride, while it remains in the interest of more influential Member States to impose their preferences on others. In exploring third party diplomacy and the wider EU institutional setting, it concludes that the EEAS carries efficiency gains and results in a redistribution of utility across Member States. Overall, the EEAS is not seen as a supranational foreign policy maker, but rather as an instrument reinforcing the influence of Member States.