1. Full name of PhD student: Ho Thu Thao 2. Gender: Female
3. Date of birth: July 5, 1990 4. Place of birth: Russian Federation
5. Decision on recognition of PhD students No. 3253/2016/QD-XHNV, dated September 30, 2016 of the President of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
6. Changes in the training process:
- Extended training period (18 months): From September 2019 to March 2021
- Change topic name:
+ 1st time, November 2017
Old topic name: “The role of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in resolving disputes over national sovereignty since the Cold War”
New topic title: “The European External Action Service and its activities in the period from 2009 to 2017”
+ 2nd time, March 2020
Old topic name: “The European External Action Service and its activities in the period from 2009 to 2017”
New topic name: “European External Action Service: Formation, organization and operation (2009-2019)”
7. Thesis topic name:European External Action Service: Formation, Organization and Activities (2009-2019)
8. Major: International Relations 9. Code: 62 31 02 06
10. Scientific advisor: Associate Professor, Dr. Hoang Phuoc Hiep
11. Summary of new results of the thesis:
-First, nThe principle of cohesion is an important and vital guiding factor in the planning and implementation of the EU's foreign policy, aiming to ensure coherence, connection and consistency in all activities and statements of the EU to the outside world. This principle lies at the heart and governs all aspects of the EEAS from its formation, organization to its functioning.
- Second, the EEAS is not the product of a one-time decision; on the contrary, it is the result of the difficult intersection of two processes: the first is the process of stable and sustainable European development and integration; the second is the long-term negotiation and preparation process with complex calculations of interests alongside overlapping difficulties from within and outside the EU.
- Third, the EEAS is a subject with a specific, unique and individual nature. It has a legal status unlike any other EU institution, it is located in an “intermediary” position between the EU institutions and the Member States, as well as between the first supranational and the second intergovernmental pillars of the EU. From this position, the EEAS both supports all parties and is the intersection connecting all parties in the EU foreign policy process.
- Fourth, to some extent, member states have publicly expressed their support for the EEAS, however, this is not only due to the desire to enhance the EU's international position, but also due to the benefits that can be strengthened or achieved through exploiting the new "tool" that is the EEAS. In addition, countries also have certain concerns and reservations about the EEAS because these countries consider the EEAS as a competitor to their national foreign ministries.
- Fifth, although certain achievements have been made to demonstrate its potential and development prospects, the ten-year period is still quite short for the EEAS to truly achieve the changes that EU officials have expected. The EEAS still has a long way to go with many challenges to face, including permanent conflicts and dilemmas that will require a lot of effort from all parties involved to resolve: conflicts between the EEAS and national diplomatic agencies; conflicts between EU interests and national interests; conflicts between supranational and intergovernmental nature within the EEAS; and conflicts between groups of staff recruited from different sources within the EEAS.
12. Practical application, if any:
- Firstly, the thesis is a novel contribution to the field of European studies in Vietnam, thereby providing valuable information, perspectives and comments for research and teaching on the EU in general and EU foreign policy in particular.
- Second, the comments and assessments in the thesis have certain predictive value for researchers interested in the prospects of the EU's political integration in the future.
- Third, the thesis has reference value in helping to make appropriate policy recommendations for Vietnam, creating a proactive position for Vietnam in promoting and utilizing diplomatic relations with the EU in resolving international and regional issues.
13: Further research directions:
To the best of my ability, the researcher hopes to continue to have sharper comments on the future trends of the EEAS, focusing on some important areas of EU foreign policy such as crisis management, human rights, energy and counter-terrorism...
14. Published works related to the thesis:
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 birth of the European External Action Service”,Journal of European Studies(236), pp.48-60.
3. Ho Thu Thao (2020), “European External Action Service: Characteristics and Cohesion”,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 Federation
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:AssociatesProf. Hoang Phuoc Hiep
11. Summary of the new findings of the thesis:
-Firstly, 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 itsestablishment, organize toperformance.
-Secondly, the establishment of theEEAS is not theresultof a provisional decision,rather, it is thecomplexresult 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.
-Third, theEEAS is an object withuniqueandspecific 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 thefirstpolicy pillarwhichis supranational and the secondwhichis 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 comments 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.
