Against Kallas, the revolt reveals the flaws in EU diplomacy

Kaja Kallas finds herself at the heart of a political storm after the circulation of an informal document linked to the French government, which puts forward several avenues to thoroughly review her function as high representative, the head of diplomacy of the European Union.

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The text presents three optionsone of which would strengthen its portfolio and extend its skills to trade and economic development. The other two, on the other hand, would significantly weaken its role by transferring powers either to the European Commission, chaired by Ursula von der Leyen, or to the member states.

Amid unflattering press headlines, Kallas opened the door to a new debate, while clearly reminding that in the last resort, the European treaties, which define the heart of the High Representative’s mandate, will have the last word.

“It is important to remember that the roles and responsibilities of the EU institutions are clearly defined in the treaties. This framework remains unchanged,” Kallas wrote in an internal email addressed to staff and seen by Euronews.

The French document arrived at a time when Kallas’s critics were becoming increasingly vocal about their dissatisfaction with his performance. The high representative offended many sensibilities with his comments on Chinaby defending the use of Russian assets immobilizedfor supporting Ukraine, due to its tense relations with the American administration, and for having presented ambitious plans without prior consultation of the capitals.

Her detractors believe, in essence, that she is still behaving like the outspoken Estonian Prime Minister she once was, defending positions that go beyond the consensus of the 27 EU member states and sometimes amount to personal opinion.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, a recurring critic of Brussels known for his contrarian posture, has repeatedly called for his dismissal.

Under condition of anonymity, several diplomats from different countries recognize that the revolt against Kallas has intensified in recent weeks. But they mark their disagreement with the French document, which few of them seem to have actually read.

“Unfortunately, she is doing a lot to lose support. She is not very good at building alliances in the Council,” said a senior diplomat.

“But France is currently in all-out offensive mode against all institutions. HAS”

Paris has since downplayed the scope of the document, explaining that it was an exploratory note which had not been validated by the government.

Mission impossible

According to diplomats, the real problems go beyond the Kallas case.

They arise from a complex and dated institutional framework, which places the high representative halfway between the European Commission, the independent executive of which she is one of the vice-presidents, and the European External Action Service (EEAS), the diplomatic arm of the EU which she heads alone.

Added to this is the fact that foreign policy at European level is governed by the rule of unanimity, which reserves the decision for capitals. A single “no” is enough to derail an entire course of action, or even a simple press release.

Concretely, Kaja Kallas is responsible for piloting a foreign policy whose direction largely escapes her.

“The EEAS and the High Representative function were created in another era, when the world was completely different. If we had to imagine the system from a blank page, we would no longer build it today as we did at the time,” said another senior diplomat.

“Could the EEAS work better? Probably yes. Could the high representative manage her office differently? Probably yes. But let’s be clear, the main problem here is a divided Council “where the member states sit.

“It is important that the EU has a strong senior representative. This is our interest. HAS”

A third diplomat emphasizes that the limits inherent to the function, defined by the leaders at the start of each five-year mandate, make it an impossible mission, whatever the strengths of the person chosen.

“On an institutional level, the high representative cannot succeed, whoever the person is. He or she doesn’t have the tools. All previous high representatives have failed, and it will be the same for their successors. It is therefore not a question of name,” said this diplomat.

The fact that Kallas comes from Eastern Europe also fuels the political reaction, adds this diplomat, with the former head of government adopting a hard line towards Russia that some countries in Western and Southern Europe consider excessive.

His attempts to fermer la porte í l’idée direct dialogue with Moscow as part of peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine have remained in vain. French and German leaders continue to defend this option, alongside the United Kingdom.

Conversely, Poland, the Baltic countries and the Nordic countries regularly adopt positions close to those of Kallas, which offers him a cushion of support.

“Kallas is not perfect and makes her own mistakes, but they are no more serious than those of her predecessors,” said the diplomat.

Another element of context, the growing tensions between Kallas and the EEAS, on the one hand, and von der Leyen and the Commission, on the other.

Under the leadership of von der Leyen, the Commission has transformed itself into a “geopolitical” player, taking the lead in responding to international shocks, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the energy crisis and Chinese overcapacity. Foreign policy is a recurring, and sometimes central, theme in von der Leyen’s speeches.

On several occasions, this desire to encroach on the prerogatives of other institutions turned around against the President of the Commission. But, overall, leaders have allowed her to expand her scope, which further weakens the mandate that Kallas is supposed to exercise.

In fact, some diplomats suspect that the impact of the French document is nothing other than the product of institutional rivalries.

Asked whether von der Leyen wanted to abolish the EEAS, his spokesperson replied: “The European External Action Service is one of the institutions that implements EU policies and, obviously, it has the support of our president.”

With the contribution of Luca Bertuzzi and Maïa De la Baume.