Administering foreign relations

The foreign and security policy of the European Union (EU) has been evolving since the 1960s and the reorganization of transatlantic relations within NATO following the end of the Cold War. The Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) introduces three major structural innovations: (1) the Secretary-General of the European Council is appointed as High Representative for the common foreign and security policy; (2) the representation of the EU and the conduct of the common foreign and security policy is entrusted to a troika, consisting of the President of the Council, a member of the Commission and the Secretary-General of the Council- the High Representative (this replaces previous troika consisting of the current President of the Council and his immediate predecessor and successor); the creation of a Policy Planning and Early Warning Unit for foreign policy, consisting of officials and experts from national administrations, the Commission, the Council and the Western European Union (WEU). In addition, procedures of decision-making have been strengthened with devices of guidelines and strategies for joint action. However, the so-called "common policy" is still subject to the unanimous will of the governments where there are military implications.