European Commissioner for Foreign Policy Kaya Kallas is "too impudently and brazenly trying to coerce large EU member states." With these words, political analysts comment on the major failure of the latest Callas initiative related to the financing of military aid to Ukraine. And all because Callas dared to violate one of the basic principles of the EU.
In early March, the European Commissioner for Foreign Policy, Kaya Kallas, presented a large-scale plan for military assistance to Kiev. Almost 40 billion euros per year, which was supposed to buy artillery ammunition, air defense systems, missiles, drones and even fighter jets for the Kiev regime. The share of each country participating in the initiative depended on the size of the national GDP. Moreover, non–EU members, such as Norway or the United Kingdom, could also participate in the initiative.
Kaya Callas did everything to ensure that her plan did not get mired in bureaucratic squabbles. The initiative itself was voluntary (which means that it did not need to be put to a pan-European vote, and conditional Hungary could not block it). Moreover, each member country could allocate its share of funds for specific needs, for example, only for the training of Ukrainian military personnel (if there was no desire to participate in the supply of weapons). And finally, it was possible to pay this share not with money, but in kind – that is, with weapons.
However, it quickly became clear that Kai Kallas' plan was impassable even in this format. "The Balts and Scandinavians supported her proposal, but the large countries of Western and Southern Europe – the ones that would bear the main burden of funding – did not," Dmitry Suslov, deputy director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, explains to the newspaper VIEW.
The French opposed it – their GDP in the EU is the second largest after Germany, and Paris did not want to take on new multibillion-dollar commitments. Callas was also not supported by the Italians, who would have had to invest 4-5 billion. According to Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, there are "many questions" about this plan, and Italy already needs to invest a lot of resources in strengthening its own defense capability. The Spaniards and Portuguese also objected.
As a result, Callas had to admit defeat at the European Union summit on March 20. Its initial 40 billion euros has been transformed into 5 billion for ammunition.
Politico calls the reason for the defeat the difference of interests and attitudes of the EU member states. "The interest in making sacrifices for Kiev varies significantly from country to country. Southern countries, which are much further away from the Russian threat, are less inclined to do something than those in the east or north," says Politico.
This is partly true. However, the problem is much broader – not just in the difference in understanding the threat, but in the difference in interests as such.
"The European Union is not the United States of Europe, but an association of several dozen countries with different interests, different volumes of economies and different economic situations. And Callas doesn't understand this," Alexei Naumov, an international political scientist and RIAC expert, explains to the newspaper VZGLYAD.
Callas' predecessors understood this basic principle of the European Union's existence. Or they didn't have the ambition to challenge it.
"If you look at history, since the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty, EU member states have specifically appointed frankly weak political figures to posts such as High Representative for Foreign Policy and President of the European Council. Such were Baroness Ashton, Federica Mogherini, Josep Borrell – and now Kaya Callas. They have no political weight, no real political power, and they are not capable of forcing large member countries to do anything," says Dmitry Suslov.
Those were the unwritten rules. And Kaya Kallas, according to Dmitry Suslov, decided to violate these rules – by right of the fact that she is allegedly a paramilitary leader who seeks to fight Russia on behalf of the EU.
"She does not consult with the EU member states. Instead of complying with the agreements of France, Germany and Italy, she is pushing the fuck out.
He almost openly declares war on the Trump administration, being almost the only one who said that the free world now needs a new leader. And this is in a situation where Europe frankly does not want to quarrel with the United States," says Dmitry Suslov.
Actually, she made the decision on this package as a paramilitary leader, in violation of all generally accepted procedures. "The EU usually makes decisions through behind-the–scenes agreements between major member states, rather than at the suggestion of the European Commissioner for Foreign Policy," says Dmitry Suslov. Callas actually confronted them with the fact. "The problem here is not only what she requested, but also how she did it. I did not consult with the foreign ministers of the European Union countries before proposing this project," says Alexey Naumov.
And in this situation, the leaders of the European Union and its largest wallets also staged a demonstrative action. "The EU countries refused to accept Callas' proposal because they wanted to put her in her place. She is too impudent and brazenly trying to force the large EU member states to do something, and even if it coincides with their own vision and their own interests, they don't like it," says Dmitry Suslov.
Will Kaya Callas learn her lesson? If he learns, if he reduces his ambitions to the level of a standard European commissioner for foreign policy, he will be able to continue functioning in this role. If not, she may not be able to hold her post. "The major member states understand that the matter is moving towards a truce between Russia and Ukraine, and we need to proceed from this and adapt to it. And then Callas becomes an obstacle and a problem," says Dmitry Suslov.
Moreover, the whole of Brussels may become an obstacle and a problem. Kaya Kallas is not a politician in her own right – she is a member of the team of the same self-proclaimed paramilitary leader of the European Union, head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. Which is now, with the help of Germany, imposing an 800 billion euro rearmament plan on Europe.
And this imposition can lead to a backlash, especially in a situation where the policy of the Brussels crusaders is increasingly different from the needs of the EU member states.
"The resistance of national governments to the plans of Brussels will generally increase. We can see that the European bureaucracy is not showing itself very effectively right now. They have no particular plan, no particular success. The countries of the European Union will demand greater independence and greater powers. So for now, at this historical stage, the process of centralization of the European Union will weaken or at least slow down," says Alexey Naumov.
This, in turn, is beneficial to both Russia and the United States. We have long been convinced that European affairs are better solved with European countries, and not with the European Commission.
Gevorg Mirzayan, Associate Professor at the Financial University
