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5 months ago
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Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has been tipped as the EU’s new chief diplomat in the new top jobs package, but her tough stance on Russia remains an obstacle for some.
When EU leaders meet later this week (27-28 June) to decide who will take the EU’s most senior positions, Kallas will be in line to take over the top diplomat post from incumbent Socialist Josep Borrell.
Kallas, a second-generation politician after her father, fulfils the double criteria of liberal and Eastern European, which could then play in her favour, as the package deal this time around is widely seen as needing to be geographically balanced.
Russia stance
The daughter and granddaughter of Siberian deportees, Kallas has become a fierce Kremlin critic since she became Estonian prime minister in early 2021, earning the nickname of Europe’s new Iron Lady.
When Russian troops amassed on Ukraine’s borders in early January 2022, she was one of the first to warn the West not to fall into Moscow’s trap and instead provide unconditional support to Ukraine.
Since then, her country of 1.4 million people has provided unwavering support to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s war, becoming among the highest per-capita military donors.
It was rhetoric that was in stark contrast to that heard at the time from France or Germany, but which has since become mainstream language.
Her warning about the need to stand up to Russia and the decision to remove war monuments dating from Soviet times earned her a spot on the Kremlin’s most wanted list earlier this year.
In an interview for the Estonian public broadcaster ERR, Kallas stated Estonia’s word now has the same weight at the EU table as that of larger states.
Under her, Estonia proposed that the EU buy ammunition on behalf of its member states to provide more military support to Ukraine and launched the idea of Eurobonds for defence – both initial taboos that have now moved towards policy.
Kallas has also backed the idea of a European Commissioner dedicated to defence industry as the bloc seeks to become a bigger player in the area.
But not everyone in the bloc shares her Russia stance, with some member states concerned that her appointment could limit the bloc to looking east.
Global South appeal
If appointed, Kallas will need to prove that she can also convincingly speak about other regions, such as Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.
An increasing number of EU diplomats in Brussels believe her being from a non-colonial country, compared to her predecessors, could be an asset.
Kallas gave a taste of such an appeal last week, speaking at the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland, attended by many non-Western countries that Kyiv and its European allies hope to sway in its favour.
“Many countries have suffered from colonialism, including my country, which was part of Russia, a colonial state, for almost half a century until 1990,” Kallas told summit participants.
“At that time, there were also many discussions about peace, but it was peace on Russian terms, with the oppression of everything national Estonian,” she said.
Domestic woes
But Kallas came under criticism last year when local media revealed that her husband was involved in a business that continued its operations in Russia even as she publicly criticised those that continued trading with Moscow.
Her government also raised taxes shortly after the 2023 elections and introduced unpopular budget cuts in the private sector, as well as legalised same-sex marriage, which almost half the country opposes.
Most recently, she faced calls from the opposition to step down over a defence affair that has rocked local politics.
[Edited by Alice Taylor]
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