Kallas cancels launch of EU defense group in Brussels
In Brussels, Belgium, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas canceled the planned launch of a high-level advisory group on European defense. This happened several hours before the presentation of the initiative, following objections from several EU member states, reportedly including Germany, France and Italy. Defense News reports.
Launch canceled
Kallas announced her intention to create the group on September 1 during an informal meeting of EU defense ministers in Wicklow, Ireland. The group was planned to include former political and military leaders tasked with preparing recommendations on closing gaps in Europe’s military capabilities more quickly.
According to diplomats familiar with the plans, the group was to be chaired by former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Former Estonian Defense Minister Jüri Luik and former French Defense Minister Florence Parly were named among the likely participants. The United Kingdom and Ukraine were also expected to take part.
The initiative was officially scheduled to be presented on September 7 at the Solvay Library in Brussels, in the format of a discussion with Kallas. About 150 people were invited to the event, but it was canceled during the day on September 6, before the group’s composition was officially confirmed.
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Objections from EU states
An unnamed EU official told Politico that some member states considered this approach inappropriate at that time. According to the official, Kallas’s office will instead seek new formats for engagement with EU states.
The dpa news agency reported that objections from Berlin were key to canceling the plan. Euractiv, for its part, wrote that France, Germany and Italy jointly rejected the initiative. Informally, the group was compared to a “Draghi report for defense.”
A spokesperson for Germany’s Defense Ministry declined to comment on consultations between EU countries but stressed that Berlin considers NATO the main platform for planning military capabilities. The spokesperson said that defense and armaments policy fall within the competence of member states, while capability and defense planning are based on NATO planning. At the same time, the spokesperson described EU initiatives, including PESCO, the European Defence Fund, SAFE and Military Mobility, as useful.
Defense News notes that some European capitals may have feared duplication of work already being carried out by European Commissioner for Defence Andrius Kubilius. The outlet also describes the situation as another manifestation of tensions between Kallas’s diplomatic service and the European Commission over control of the EU defense agenda.
