1. Full name of doctoral candidate: Ho Thu Thao 2. Gender: Female
3. Date of birth: July 5, 1990 4. Place of birth: Russian Federation
5. Decision No. 3253/2016/QD-XHNV, dated September 30, 2016, of the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, recognizing the doctoral student.
6. Changes in the training process:
- Extended training period (18 months): From September 2019 to March 2021
- Change the title of the topic:
+ First time, November 2017
Previous title: “The role of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in resolving national sovereignty disputes since the Cold War”
New research topic title: “The European External Affairs Service and its activities from 2009 to 2017”
+ Second time, March 2020
Previous title: “The European External Affairs Service and its activities during the period from 2009 to 2017”
New research topic title: “European External Relations Service: Formation, Organization and Operation (2009-2019)”
7. Thesis title:European External Affairs Service: Formation, Organization and Operation (2009-2019)
8. Major: International Relations 9. Code: 62 31 02 06
10. Scientific supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hoang Phuoc Hiep
11. Summary of the new findings of the thesis:
ButFirst, nThe principle of cohesion is a crucial and vital guiding element in the planning and implementation of EU foreign policy, ensuring coherence, linkage, and consistency in all EU activities and statements to the outside world. This principle is at the heart of and governs every aspect of the EEAS, from its formation and organization to its operational functions.
Secondly, the EEAS is not the product of a spur-of-the-moment decision; on the contrary, it is the difficult result of the intersection of two processes: firstly, the process of stable and sustainable European development and integration; secondly, the lengthy negotiation and preparation process with complex calculations of interests alongside overlapping difficulties from within and outside the EU.
- Thirdly, the EEAS is a unique and distinctive entity. It holds a legal status unlike any other EU institution, positioned as an "intermediary" between EU institutions and member states, and between the first pillar of EU policy—supreme and intergovernmental—and the second pillar. From this position, the EEAS both supports all parties and serves as a connecting point for all parties in the EU's foreign policy process.
Fourth, to some extent, member states openly express their support for the EEAS; however, this stems not only from a desire to enhance the EU's international standing, but also from the benefits that can be consolidated or achieved through exploiting this new "tool," the EEAS. In addition, countries also have certain concerns and reservations about the EEAS, stemming from their perception of it as a competitor to their national foreign ministries.
- Fifth, while certain achievements have been made to demonstrate its potential and prospects for development, ten years is still a relatively short period for the EEAS to truly achieve the transformations that EU officials have expected. The EEAS still has a long way to go with many challenges to face, including persistent conflicts and dilemmas that will require considerable effort from all parties involved to resolve: conflicts between the EEAS and national diplomatic agencies; conflicts between EU interests and national interests; conflicts between the supranational and intergovernmental nature within the EEAS; and conflicts between the various groups of staff recruited from different sources within the EEAS.
12. Practical applications, if any:
- Firstly, the thesis is a novel contribution to the field of European studies in Vietnam, thereby providing valuable information, perspectives, and insights for research and teaching on the EU in general and EU foreign policy in particular.
Secondly, the observations and assessments in the thesis have certain predictive value for researchers interested in the prospects of future political integration of the EU.
- Thirdly, the thesis is valuable as a reference for formulating appropriate policy recommendations for Vietnam, creating a proactive position for Vietnam in promoting and leveraging diplomatic relations with the EU in addressing international and regional issues.
13: Future research directions:
To the best of their ability, the doctoral candidate hopes to continue to provide more insightful assessments of future trends within the EEAS, focusing on key areas of EU foreign policy such as crisis management, human rights, energy, and counter-terrorism…
14. Published works related to the dissertation:
1. Ho Thu Thao (2019), “European immigration policy: shaping factors and causes of failure”,Journal of European Studies(221), pp. 24-34.
2. Ho Thu Thao (2020), “Discussing national sovereignty before the establishment of the European External Affairs Service”,Journal of European Studies(236), pp. 48-60.
3. Ho Thu Thao (2020), “European External Affairs Service: Characteristics and Connectivity Capabilities”,Foreign Affairs Magazine(129), pp. 56-62.
INFORMATION ON DOCTORAL THESIS
1. Full name: Ho Thu Thao 2. Sex: Female
3. Date of birth: July 5, 1990 4. Place of birth:Russian Parliament
5. Admission decision number: 3253/2016/QD-XHNV, dated September 30, 2016 by Rector of University of Social Sciences & Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
6. Changes in academic process:
- Extension of study duration (18 months): from Sep 2019 to Mar 2021
- Changes in thesis title:
First change, Nov 2017
Old title: "The role of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in settling disputes over national sovereignty since the Cold war"
New title: “The European External Action Service and its performances in the period from 2009 to 2017”
Second change, Mar 2020
Old title: “The European External Action Service and its performances in the period from 2009 to 2017”
New title: “The European External Action Service: The establishment, organization and performance (2009-2019)”
7. Official thesis title:The European External Action Service: The establishment, organization and performance (2009-2019)
8. Major: International Relations 9. Code: 62 31 02 06
10. Supervisors:AssocProf. Hoang Phuoc Hiep
11. Summary of the new findings of the thesis:
ButFirstly, the coherenceprinciple is avital andimportant guiding factor in the EU foreign policymaking and implementationprocessto ensure coherenceand consistencyprintall EUexternal actions and declarationsThis principle lies at thecenterand governs every aspect of EEAS from itsengineorganization toperformance.
ButSecondly, the establishment of theEEAS is not theexecutiveof a temporary decision,rather, it is theHealthyresult of the interference between two processes: The first isastable and sustainable European development and integration;the second is a lengthy process of negotiation and preparation with complicated calculations of interestsas well asoverlapping difficulties from inside and outside the EU.
ButThirdly, theEEAS is an object withfamiliarandspecific nature. Thisservicehas a legal status unlike any other EU institution, it is an "intermediary" betweenAllthe EU institutions and its member states, as well as between thetetrapolicylessoldis supranational and the secondoldis intergovernmental.Fromthis position, EEAS both supports and connectsSall parties inthe EU foreign policy process.
- Fourthly, to some extent the member countries have openly expressed their support for EEAS, however, this not only stems from the desire to strengthen the EU position in the world, but also from benefits that can be enhanced or achieved through the exploitation of a new "tool" - the EEAS. In addition, countries also have certain concerns and reservations about the EEAS as they tend to see the serice as a competitor to the national foreign ministry.
- Fifthly, although there have been certain achievements proving the development potentials and prospects, the ten-year period is still quite short for the EEAS to actually make the differences that EU officials have expected. The EEAS still has a long way to go, with many challenges to face, including persistent contradictions and dilemmas that will require a lot of effort to deal with: the contradiction between the EEAS and the national diplomatic missions; between the EU interests and national interests; between supranational and intergovernmental nature within the EEAS; and between groups of employees recruited from different sources in the EEAS.
12.Practical applicability, if any:
- Firstly, the thesis is a contribution with some new aspects to the field of European studies in Vietnam, thereby providing valuable information, viewpoints and opinions for researchers and scholars who concern about the EU in general and EU foreign policy in particular.
- Second, comments and assessments made in the thesis can provide certain valuable insights for researchers who are interested in the prospect of EU political integration in the future.
- Thirdly, the thesis can provide some policy recommendations for Vietnam on how tonot only promote the Vietnam-EU diplomatic relations, but also make use of such relations in dealing with international and regional issues that concern Vietnam.
13.Further research directions, if any:
Within her capacity, the PhD student wishes to have deeper research and assessments on the future performance of the EEAS, focusing on several important fields of EU foreign policy such as crisis management, human rights, energy and counter-terrorism…
14. Thesis-related publications:
1.Ho Thu Thao (2019), “European Union immigration policy: shaping factors and causes of failure”,European Studies Review(221),pp.24-34.
2. Ho Thu Thao (2020), “Discussing on national sovereignty at the creation of the European External Action Service,European Studies Review(236),pp.48-60.
3. Ho Thu Thao (2020), “The European External Action Service: Characteristics andcapability of improving coherence,External Relations Review(129),pp.56-62.
