Overview
In December 2021, Le Grand Continent interviewed David O'Sullivan for a feature piece titled "'The European Union Has Always Been a Building Site, and It Will Continue To Be So', a Conversation with David O'Sullivan, Architect of European Diplomacy." Published in advance of the eleventh anniversary of the European External Action Service's (EEAS) implementation, the Q&A covers O'Sullivan's institutional experience, the challenges of building the European diplomatic service, and his thoughts on emerging foreign policy developments.
As Director General in charge of the European Commission's External Relations within the European Commission, O'Sullivan was tasked with setting up the EEAS - later becoming its Head of Operations.
Since then, O'Sullivan and his colleagues helped grow EEAS into an effective service: "Foreign policy and diplomacy are not about making particularly brilliant moves and spectacular operations all the time. It is above all a matter of managing day-to-day relations with other countries, some of which are friends, others adversaries, others neither. These tasks are handled well and truly taken on by the EEAS on a daily basis without fanfare." Despite this growth, O'Sullivan highlights the institution's room for improvement, citing greater cohesion with the broader European Commission as a first step.
Beyond the EEAS, O'Sullivan lists two priorities for EU security: defense and security. "First of all, we need to spend both more and better on defense…we are not getting our money's worth because we have too many weapon systems, too many duplicates and not enough investment in very expensive equipment which should be pooled at European level." O'Sullivan continues, "Second, the real security challenge…is less about traditional military capabilities and more about economic and technological issues, especially cybersecurity.” Regarding America, O'Sullivan notes that despite a changing nation under Obama, Trump, and now Biden, two changes have held steady, representing a fundamental reorientation of US foreign policy: a reluctance to intervene and the recognition of China as an a priori concern.
The full article can be read at Le Grand Continent.