Kallas can reform European External Action Service – expert
Ivanna Volochiy, an expert and manager of the Renew Europe parliamentary group in the European Parliament, said this in a commentary to Ukrinform.
She noted that Kallas clearly demonstrated her leadership qualities after Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine began. "She then formulated and publicized very important theses for the European community. And this greatly influenced her positioning in Brussels as a strong leader, formed a positive view of Kallas as the future head of European diplomacy, and not only in terms of ‘Eastern policy’ (Russian direction - ed.) and EU security policy in general," Volochiy said.
According to her, in many ways, Kallas simply breaks out of the standards of European top management, which is believed to be based on the principle of "keeping a low profile," i.e., being a good, strong bureaucrat, being able to negotiate with everyone, and having a moderate position. "And here, on the example of Kallas, we can see a radical change in vision," the expert believes.
In her opinion, Kallas may be determined to make significant changes to the European External Action Service (EEAS), of course, after mastering all the subtleties of the bureaucratic "European cuisine". "Perhaps Kallas will even change the structure itself somehow - management, security system. Perhaps there will be some new portfolios that will be added," said Volochiy.
The expert also praised the prospects for cooperation between Kallas and the future NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. "Kallas and Rutte will form a great tandem. They have known each other for a long time. They both come from the liberal community... I have just spoken to colleagues from NATO. They also have good expectations for Mark Rutte. Let's remember that the current Secretary General Stoltenberg has been in office since 2014. This is the longest of all Alliance leaders (at least in the last forty years). Therefore, in this case, there are many expectations for some kind of renewal in approaches," she summarized.
Ivanna Volochiy, a Belgian citizen of Ukrainian descent, has experience working in various European institutions. In recent years, she has been working as a communications manager for the Renew Europe liberal group in the European Parliament (the third largest in the EP).
As Ukrinform reported, in late June, the European Council agreed on candidates for appointment to senior positions in key EU institutions. In particular, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas was nominated for the post of EU High Representative.
Photo credit: Ken Mürk/ERR
