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561 Natividad Fernández Sola The proposed reform of the european external actions service and its implications for the european union‘s security policy areas in which the EU is involved internationally. For a common security and defence policy, the EEAS should include the best members of the Armed Forces of the Member States, the best strategists, the best officials and the best private sector professionals for the development of civilian missions, the best specialists in the market place and in the fields of defence, development, energy security, the environment, etc. A conservatism that rejects the necessary restructuring of European diplomacy is indefensible, bearing in mind the global nature of international affairs. The only result can be that of a European diplomacy that is irrelevant, out of date and obsolete. The risks are lower in the EEAS than at national level, on account of the heterogeneous composition of the service with its multiple specialities and nationalities and diverse institutional interests. Functional logic led to a Common Security and Defence Policy in which national interests are included in the overall European interest, without the disappearance of a national defence policy for risks not shared with European partners. Now is the moment to develop in a coherent manner all the instruments and players that take part in this policy, beyond those which are exclusively military. It is worth reminding ourselves that we are entering into a dynamic of replacing military intervention with silent military missions: knowledge and anticipation, military diplomacy, prevention and dissuasion70. The Armed Forces of the member States are equipped to deal with such endeavours, but perhaps not as their main mission. Besides, all of them require the support of civilian players and their corresponding coordination. In this transition the simultaneous adaptation of the EEAS and of national, military and diplomatic services could be of great benefit and generate complementarities where there are existing clashes of competences. 70  On the concept of silent security, see BLACKHAM, Jeremy and PRINS, Gwyn. “Why Things Don’t Happen: Silent Principles of National Security”, RUSI Journal, vol.155, n.4, 2010, pp.14-22.


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