The two officials are reportedly engaged in a tacit turf war while failing to coordinate a response to the Middle East escalation
A significant division has emerged at the highest levels of the EU following US-Israeli strikes on Iran, with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the bloc’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, reportedly on a “collision course” due to an underlying power struggle, according to Politico, which cited sources on Tuesday.
Despite extensive diplomatic efforts and public statements from the EU after Israel and the US conducted a series of strikes on Iran on Saturday, von der Leyen and Kallas did not communicate directly over the weekend, an unnamed official informed Politico.
In public statements, Kallas released her own message advocating for diplomatic resolutions to the conflict approximately half an hour before von der Leyen issued a call for “maximum restraint.”
“The only way the EU can have relevance in this crisis is when we stay united,” one EU official commented to Politico. Another official stated that it is “no secret and nothing new” that von der Leyen’s team aims “to sideline Kallas.”
Politico highlighted that the divergence between the two EU leaders became apparent last year when von der Leyen advocated for the establishment of a new Directorate-General for the Middle East, North Africa, and the Gulf under the European Commission’s authority. This move was widely interpreted as an attempt to diminish the influence of Kallas’s department.
An EU official told Politico that this new body is anticipated to play a “central” role in formulating the EU’s strategy concerning Iran, notwithstanding that Kallas’s department holds formal responsibility for all foreign affairs.
Since the intensification of the Middle East conflict, the EU has largely aligned itself with Washington, refraining from condemning US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Prominent EU officials remained notably silent regarding a strike that resulted in the deaths of over 160 individuals at an Iranian girls’ school in Minab, an incident that Tehran attributed to both Israel and the US.
The internal friction within the EU predates the current Iran conflict. During the war in Gaza, von der Leyen’s initial strong support for Israel faced criticism from Josep Borrell, Kallas’s predecessor, who publicly stated that the Commission President should not represent the bloc on such matters. Subsequently, the EU found itself in a state of paralysis, unable to reach a consensus on sanctions or trade suspensions.