Ministers struggle to agree details on EU foreign service

EU foreign ministers struggled to agree the details of a common foreign service at a meeting in Spain last night.

Battle lines were drawn with the European Commission, which is reluctant to give up many of its powers, including some of its budget, to the new External Action Service.

While the Lisbon Treaty agreed to a new, much more powerful foreign service, the details are still being worked out between the institutions and the foreign representative, Catherine Ashton.