What is the EU international relations priority of Kaja Kallas? – DW – 07/15/2024

Until a few months ago, Kaja Kallas, who resigned as Prime Minister of Estonia on Monday, was a government candidate in the race to replace Jens Stoltenberg as Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Group (NATO), but his A reputation as a Russian hawk destroyed his prospects.

With influential NATO member states, many of them from the EU, yes, fighting in Ukraine, it was no longer impossible to preserve Japanese member states on the fringes of the Brussels hierarchy. However, there were concerns that handing over responsibility for the regime’s security to the Baltic leader was too strong a message for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Besides, the possibility of a turnaround in US leadership and the calculation of who could easily work with Donald Trump to win the November presidential election was also an issue.

Kallas took this seriously and later recommended Mark Rutte as NATO chief. However, witnesses suspected that his nonchalant walk was part of the assurances that laid the groundwork for him to become Josep Borrell’s top EU adviser for foreign policy, a position that would have required him to remain at the EU summit after the election. Was nominated on. In June.

Kallas, 47, was one of the first EU leaders to warn about Putin’s expansionist intentions, warning allies of falling into a “trap” of trust in good trade members with Moscow that could lead to that extreme. Could stop what Europe itself had achieved. When Russia attacked Ukraine.

“Her nomination proves that she now represents the mainstream point of view in EU capitals,” said Marilee Arjakas, a fellow at the Global Center for Defense and Security (ICDS), a think tank in Tallin, Estonia.

It appears that Callas’s credentials and instincts have become assets as the EU has decided to step out of its comfort zone and brace itself against Russian blackmail. Some people are even considering whether to re-enlist in the army or not.

What are Kailash’s overseas coverage preferences?

Several professionals told DW that Kallas is the perfect pick for the week when it comes to foreign policy, mostly because, in the next five years, the EU’s focus will be on substantive security against Russia.

As the prime minister of Estonia, an insignificant country that was part of the Soviet Union until 1991, and the daughter of a girl who was deported to Siberia as a child, Kallas understands all too well what would happen if Ukraine lost its authority. What could happen is war with Russia or being forced to leave the dimension at once.

His governance priorities as the EU’s chief diplomat will probably ensure that the Europeans are prepared to stand still if the Russians advance.

The fighting in Ukraine has exposed many of Europe’s weaknesses, including inadequate ammunition production and gaps in satellite-based surveillance and reconnaissance facilities.

Kallas has advised joint borrowing through the European Union to donate to the development of security facilities. PACE French President Emmanuel Macron has sponsored the theory that it will be more difficult for him to persuade fiscally prudent states such as Germany. Reviews suggest she could have raised it with Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Hamburg in February.

Alternatively, there are already thoughts on potential turf wars inside the bloc and whether Kallas’ focus on Russia could influence incoming NATO chief Rutte’s thunder.

“In the context of a military crisis, it is important who commands whom and how the chain of command actually works. That is NATO militarily,” he noted in March in an attempt to explain. “But the EU also has a contribution to make in promoting the defense industry.”

Callas’s bigger challenge will likely be to define his foreign policy in alternative agricultural areas such as dealing with Iran, China and the Middle East.

Disagree with the obvious foreign coverage?

Kristi Raik, deputy director of ICDS, an Estonian think tank, said Kallas can take a critical view of China and Iran, but can also pass judgment on them according to their relations with Moscow.

“I think China will be an issue where the EU is developing its approach with respect to transatlantic relations,” Mentioned Raik. “Iran, I don’t think she will take a position strongly. But Iran is now a close partner of Russia and is an authoritarian regime, that would be the basic starting point.”

Raik said Kailash would better assist in advancing a multilateral, rules-based international layout.

“She comes from a small state, so it is very natural for her to push for a rules-based system where international agreements are valid and norms are respected.”

On the other hand, others said that day that this method could work in the context of Russia’s blackmail of the smaller Baltic states, a matter debatable in relation to conflicts in the Middle East.

Presumably, Estonia voted in favor of the joint country general meeting resolution upgrading Palestinian status from a witness to a full club. An Israeli source told DW that the Estonian vote was noted the day the call was made in Tel Aviv.

“Kallas personally has not been outspoken on foreign policy questions other than Russia,” said Marilee Argakas of ICDS. “In any case, it will depend on what the EU as a whole decides on key foreign policy questions.”

Will Kailash adopt a ‘feminist foreign policy’?

And the next question is whether she will adopt a so-called feminist foreign policy or not.

Even among feminists, there is debate over whether feminist foreign policy simply encourages the inclusion of women in positions of power, fighting for their rights through diplomatic instruments and pushing for the allocation of additional resources. Giving or essentially going beyond that to prioritize human security above nationwide security,

Ann Cities, political science coach at Gothenburg College, Sweden, noted that many feminists reject the concept that “there is an inherent tension between feminist foreign policy and security policy,” including: “Callas would fall into the same tradition.”

Edited by: John Shelton Jr.