The two officials are reportedly engaged in a silent turf war as they fail to coordinate a response to the Middle East escalation.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the bloc’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said the US-Israeli attacks on Iran had exposed deep cracks at the top of the EU. “Collision Course” In a backroom power struggle, Politico reported Tuesday, citing sources.
The EU was widely condemned over the weekend for failing to meet or issue a unified statement 48 hours after the US-Israeli unprovoked attack on Iran. An unnamed official told Politico that van der Leyen and Kallas did not speak directly to each other over the weekend.
In public, Callas issued a solo statement about finding diplomatic solutions to the conflict half an hour before van der Leyen called. “Utmost restraint.”
This is “No secret and nothing new” Van der Leyen’s team is satisfied “To set aside the callas” An EU official told the outlet, known for its access to Brussels’ corridors.
Politico claims the rift between the two EU officials became apparent last year when van der Leyen pushed to create a new directorate-general for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf under the European Commission — widely seen as an attempt to wrest influence from the Callas branch.
An EU official told the outlet that the new body is expected to play “center” Role in shaping the EU’s Iran strategy, Callas’ department is formally in charge of all foreign affairs.
Since the escalation of the Middle East conflict, the EU has increasingly sought to align with Washington, refraining from condemning US-Israeli attacks on Iran. Top EU officials were conspicuously silent on the strike on an Iranian girls’ school in Minab that killed more than 160 people, which Tehran blamed on Israel and the US alike.
Conflict within the EU precedes the Iran conflict. During Israel’s war in Gaza, von der Leyen’s initially strong support for the Jewish state was pushed back by Callas’ predecessor, Josep Borrell, who publicly stated that the commission president should not speak for the bloc on the issue. The EU was subsequently paralyzed, unable to agree to sanctions or trade suspensions.
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