European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has defended the European External Action Service (EEAS), at a time when France and Germany could be seeking its abolition.
Kallas emailed her 5,000 staff on Thursday, June 11th, with a message written to resist media speculation over the future of her fiefdom. Amid reported Franco-German attempts to “tear apart” the EU’s diplomatic service, she wrote:
It is important to recall that the roles and responsibilities of the EU institutions are clearly defined in the treaties. That framework remains unchanged.
However, rival and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen would change it. One of her allies in the German foreign ministry spokesperson stated:
In a world full of crises, we need a strong EU and an effective, capable EU foreign policy. Since the establishment of the EEAS [in 2010], we have been working to improve decision-making processes and to place our Common Foreign and Security Policy on an increasingly robust footing.
The comments coincide with reports of a French-authored internal document which suggests three possible options for EEAS reform:
putting all diplomatic responsibilities under the umbrella of the Commission, moving it to the EU Council, or strengthening both the EEAS and Kallas’ powers.
Only one of these would retain a significant role for the former Estonian prime minister and her team. From her email account Kallas aimed to remind staff that EEAS provides “added value.”
Perhaps unwittingly, this rather insipid language points to Kallas’ uninspiring contribution to date as High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
