The Lesbon Treaty, which entered into force in December, creates the European External Action Service (EEAS) that Catherine Ashton, EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, will eventually lead.

"We are well on track to get the service in place. I am hopeful that we can reach an agreement swiftly in the European Council supported by the European Parliament and the European Commission," Ashton told a press conference held amid the EU's spring summit on March 25 and 26.

The EEAS, which has its headquarters in Brussels, shall be a functionally autonomous body of the EU, separate from the commission and the General Secretatiat of the council, with the legal capacity necessary to perform its tasks and attain its objectives.