About EuropeAid
In this section:
The Reform of EU External Assistance
With the Treaty of Lisbon, the European Union reformed its external relations system (so-called RELEX Family) and created the European External Action Service (EEAS). The EEAS, which has its Headquarters in Brussels, is a functionally autonomous body separate from the General Secretariat of the Council and from the Commission, with the legal capacity to perform its tasks and attain its objectives. The EEAS is headed by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, who is also Vice-President of the Commission. In addition to the central administration, the EEAS is made up of the Union Delegations and Representations in international organisations.
The EEAS replaces the DG External Relations (RELEX) and has annexed part of the geographical Directorates and Units of DG Development (DEV). The latter’s managerial and thematic Directorates and Units will be merged with EuropeAid to create DG DevCo, the new Development and Cooperation DG of the European Commission.
DG DevCo, alias EuropeAid, will manage the project cycle in its entirety, sharing the capacity of policy-making for the EU external action with the EEAS.