En route to being the 28th Member State, Croatia has strong ties with the EU. We went to Zagreb to meet Paul Vandoren, the EU's Ambassador to Croatia to see how EU diplomacy looks in a post-Lisbon Treaty context.

The Croatian connection

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/15068743/M003-0064-EN.srt

The EU is setting up   the External Action Service,

an instrument of   the new European diplomacy.

7,000 people will be working there,   including Paul Vandoren,

A full-time job, in a country which on its   way to becoming 28th member of the EU.

To be the Ambassador of the EU,   you have to be fit.

My name is Paul Vandoren   and I'm Belgian.

I grew up in Flanders.   I have a legal background

and specialised in European   and American law.

which is the accession of Croatia   to the EU, as the 28th Member State.

My role is to accompany   this process of negotiations,

by liaising with the authorities   at all possible levels,

with academia, civil society   and the business community.

We're in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia.

Since 1 December 2009, Paul Vandoren   has been the Ambassador of the EU,

We, as EU ambassadors, represent   the EU's interests exclusively.

From that point of view,   the role of the EU Ambassador,

compared to before when we were head   of the delegation of the Commission,

Hello, Branko, how are you doing?   - How are you?

It's different to being   a national representative

as they are heading up a project   which is unique on our continent,

and making Croatia part of one big family,   that is Europe.

Paul Vandoren is meeting with the   governor of Croatia's Central Bank.

I intend to ask him about his impressions   of what recently happened in the EU,

in particular, in relation   to the financial crisis in Greece.

of the EU at the last Council in Brussels.

Returning to the embassy,   Paul Vandoren calls his boss,

at the Directorate-General   for Enlargement.

He discusses his meeting with a   new member of the Croatian government.

This is Paul Vandoren calling   from the Delegation in Zagreb.

Can I speak to the   Director-General Michael Leigh?

I want to debrief you   on two meetings I had yesterday.

for European Integration at MFA,   Mr Baričević.

The other issue is the information   and communication strategy,

which the Croatian authorities should   set up in order to inform its citizens.

Paul Vandoren is one of the pioneers   of the new European diplomatic service.

He represents the EU in Croatia,   a role until now that has been shared

between the ambassadors   of the 27 Member States.

It's much more efficient   to have one EU ambassador.

This External Action Service   is not yet fully operational

I'm confident that this will work,   though there will need to be adjustments

as the plan is to have Commission   officials in the External Action Service,

as well as officials   from the Council Secretariat

and diplomatic representatives   from our Member States.

In 2012, Paul Vandoren will leave Croatia,

which by this time should become   the next Member State of the EU.