The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has defended the work of the High Representative for Foreign Policy of the Union, Kaja Kallas, amid an offensive by several member states demanding the dismantling of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the repatriation of its powers to the capitals and to the Commission itself.
During a press conference in Brussels, and when asked if Von der Leyen would be willing to reform European diplomacy, the chief spokesperson for the Community Executive, Paula Pinho, reiterated the German leader's support for the "work" of Kallas and her team.
"The European External Action Service is part of the institutions that implement EU policies and, therefore, the President lends her support to it, as well as to the work that emanates from the External Action Service," stressed the Commission's spokesperson, making it clear that the EEAS is a key piece in the community machinery.
Also asked about Von der Leyen's position regarding replacing the unanimity rule with qualified majority in foreign policy decisions, Pinho recalled that the president has already spoken out in the past in favor of introducing changes "in certain areas where unanimity still exists" to prevent a single country from vetoing decisions of the Twenty-Seven.
"It is something on which the president has already taken a stance," the spokesperson stressed, pointing out that Von der Leyen's vision "must be understood" in light of "decisions that are simply blocked" and in which the European Union fails to move forward because "the possibility of veto" by some states or small groups of countries "still exists."
The clarifications from the Community Executive come after the British newspaper 'Financial Times' revealed that France and Germany are exploring different formulas to reconfigure the EEAS, ranging from fully integrating its functions into the European Commission, transferring them to the Council of the EU, or even strengthening the powers of the High Representative herself.
In recent months, Kallas has been subjected to increasing scrutiny for her insistence on maintaining a firm EU response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while some national governments reproach her for a lack of projection on other fronts, such as the Middle East, at a time when the role that the European diplomatic service should play is being thoroughly discussed.
Diplomatic sources consulted by Europa Press qualify, however, that the mission of the High Representative is especially complex: in addition to having to achieve that the twenty-seven Member States converge on a single position, she must deal with the distribution of attributions among the EU institutions and with an increasingly tense international environment, in which the transatlantic partner, the United States, no longer maintains the same degree of harmony with Brussels as a few years ago.