As Europe’s pick for the role of top diplomatic envoy amid burning questions about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, the Ukraine war and the Middle East, Kaja Kallas’ hearing in the European Parliament was one of the most anticipated.
The former Estonian prime minister came prepared and delivered a smooth performance. Relaxed and apparently at ease in the hot seat, Kallas gave succinct but clear answers even to tricky questions, setting herself apart from other commissioner hopefuls. She even scored a few points for humor, zinging a far-right lawmaker who kept applauding whenever a tough question was directed her way. “Well, you have one fan,” she quipped after being asked one such question.
After three hours, the audience came away with a sharper impression of how their next high representative might act in the job: hawkish on Russia, supportive of Ukraine, demanding of the United States as an ally — though she barely mentioned President-elect Donald Trump — and cautious on the conflict in the Middle East.
As Kallas herself noted, she represents a “fresh face” for EU foreign policy after five years of Spanish socialist Josep Borrell, who drew the ire of Europe’s conservatives over his positions critical of Israel.
Here are five things to take away from her hearing.
1. Hey, America: Europe matters as much as China
It’s a point she hammered home repeatedly and one clearly aimed at the incoming US administration: Washington would be wrong to abandon Ukraine because that would embolden its other strategic adversary, China. “If the US is worried about China and other actors, they should also be worried about how we respond to Russia against Ukraine,” she said, adding that the conflict threatens the “security of the world.”
But Kallas also threw some red meat on China to incoming Trump administration officials (such as Marco Rubio for secretary of state and Mike Waltz for national security advisor), arguing that Beijing needs to “feel costs” over its support for Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Kallas slammed Europe’s “significant under-investment” in defense and aired regrets about restrictions on the arms the bloc has handed Ukraine to fend off Russia’s attacks. She also clapped back at lawmakers who pushed for a peace deal. “Maybe I was not clear enough: I’m for peace,” she told MEPs, while cautioning that the 2015 Minsk agreement to end the conflict after Russia’s original invasion of Crimea and eastern Ukraine hadn’t achieved lasting peace. “We need to be in a position where Russia loses its last colonial war,” she said.
2. NATO will serve Europe’s strategic needs, not an EU army
Kallas is no fan of creating an EU army, warning that if the bloc had its own military power, it could lead to a dangerous breakdown in the chain of command in Europe. “If we have two parallel structures, the ball might fall in between those chairs and we don’t need that,” she said. That enraged some heavy-hitters: Guy Verhofstadt, a former Belgian prime minister, described her remarks as “very disappointing.”
But Kallas argued that the European Union should stay in its lane and focus on playing a purely economic role, boosting the EU’s defense industry and ramping up ammunition production.
3. A hawk’s hawk on Russia
Kallas didn’t shy from her reputation as a hawk when it comes to Russia and Ukraine. Calling for Kyiv’s “victory” over Moscow in her opening speech, she set herself apart from policymakers who use the more slippery “as-long-as-it-takes” formula to describe their support for Ukraine.
She urged the bloc to use all of Russia’s frozen assets — some €300 billion — to rebuild Ukraine. “Russia is destroying Ukraine and should pay for this,” she said, adding that Moscow could try to make a claim for its funds in court. “But I doubt there is anything left over after the reconstruction of Ukraine,” she said.
4. Tread carefully on war in Middle East
Kallas was more measured in response to questions on Israel’s war in Gaza. She drew attention to the prohibition on attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure in international humanitarian law across every conflict, called for “the utmost restraint of all the parties,” and said the EU has teamed up with partners like the U.S. and Gulf countries to achieve a ceasefire, a two-state solution and the release of Israeli hostages.
She rejected an accusation of double standards: “In the Middle East, we are the biggest donor of the Palestinian Authority; we are the biggest donor to helping the Palestinian people in that region and we try to continue to do so.”
5. Finish Mercosur trade deal, or China will benefit
The EU should complete a major trade pact with a group of South American countries known as Mercosur, or risk China’s swooping in instead, Kallas argued. “If we don’t do a trade agreement with them, then this void will be filled really by China,” she said. Kallas noted that between 2020 and 2022 Chinese investment in Latin America increased 34-fold. The EU is racing to finalize the agreement despite French opposition, perhaps as soon as December.