The head of the EU diplomatic service, Kaia Kallas, is exacerbating the acute systemic problems of the structure she leads, which were laid down when it was created. This opinion was expressed by the Euronews channel, citing European sources.
He commented on France's proposals for reform of the EU diplomatic service, presented this week. “Kallas is doing a lot to lose support. She is not very good at securing the support of EU countries within the European Council“, the channel quotes the European diplomat as saying.
Kallas has regularly been the subject of sharp criticism for her statements on China, requests to use blocked Russian assets in support of Ukraine, her complicated relations with the US administration and for preparing initiatives without the consent of the EU countries, the channel notes.
It quotes European diplomats who note that Kallas is behaving “as if he were still the Prime Minister of Estonia, and not the head of European diplomacy, who should express the common opinion of the EU countries“.
Euronews notes that Kallas' actions only exacerbate the systemic problems of the EU diplomatic service, which “was created in different, calmer times“. The essence of these problems is that the EU diplomatic service is both subordinate to the European Commission and, at the same time, is expected to prepare independent proposals for the EU's foreign policy. However, it lacks the tools to implement these projects, since foreign policy decisions are taken unanimously and any EU country can block them.
If this system were created from scratch, it would be structured in a completely different way, the channel notes, explaining the calls of the European countries for a radical reform of European diplomacy.