Five European Commissioners and the High Representative of the Union should be responsible for Foreign Affairs and Defence in the 2024-2027 College, according to the plan presented on Tuesday 17 September by President-elect Ursula von der Leyen (see EUROPE 13484/1).
As decided by the Heads of State and Government, Estonia’s Kaja Kallas is to become the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Executive Vice-President of the Commission. She is expected to lead four Commissioners: the Slovenian liberal Marta Kos for Enlargement, the Croatian conservative Dubravka Šuica for the Mediterranean, the Czech conservative Jozef Síkela for International Partnerships, and the Belgian liberal Hadja Lahbib for Humanitarian Aid.
The High Representative will also work closely with the conservative Lithuanian Andrius Kubilius for Defence and Space, who will report to the Executive Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen.
While there are more and more people in charge of Foreign Affairs and Defence, the division of responsibilities between the Commissioners and the High Representative is not very clear, and intensive cooperation will be necessary.
Ukraine and enlargement. According to her mission statement, Ms Kallas will have to coordinate a more strategic approach to neighbourhood and partnerships.
“We will work closely together to ensure that Europe stands with Ukraine for as long as it takes – economically, politically and militarily – and supports its territorial integrity”, explains Ms von der Leyen in her mission statement.
This work will also be carried out in cooperation with Commissioner Marta Kos, who will be responsible for ensuring “that Ukraine’s accession and reconstruction paths are fully integrated into [the] work” of the Commission and for working on these two issues.
In addition, the High Representative and the Commissioner will work “closely” on relations with the candidate countries for EU membership and on the Eastern neighbourhood.
Ms Kos, for her part, will also, according to her mission statement, be working “with countries with an EU perspective to prepare them for accession, incentivising and supporting the structural reforms needed”, working towards gradual integration and paying particular attention to building their resilience and preparing them for the road to membership.
Encouraging regional integration, good neighbourly relations, reconciliation and the resolution of bilateral disputes, and in this way complementing the work of the High Representative on the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, are also part of Ms Kos’ missions. She will also work on a “progressive, proportionate and reversible approach to improving cooperation on political, economic and trade matters”.
Southern Neighbourhood. Together with Ms Šuica, Ms Kallas will coordinate the development of a new ‘Pact for the Mediterranean’, “reshaping our essential relationship with the region”. The pact should aim to establish“comprehensive partnerships focused on investment, economic stability, jobs, energy, transport, security, migration and other areas of mutual interest”, according to the mission statement.
Supported by the Commissioner, Ms Kallas will have to “take forward a comprehensive EU Middle East Strategy, with a view to the day after the war in Gaza, focusing on promoting all the steps needed for a two-state solution and strengthening partnerships with key regional stakeholders”.
Asked about the value of a portfolio specifically dedicated to the Mediterranean, a senior European official explained on Wednesday 18 September that a portfolio covering both enlargement and the Eastern and Southern neighbourhoods was too big for a single person, and that the idea was to have someone who could visit the region fairly frequently, push for cooperation with the countries of the Middle East and relaunch the Barcelona Process.
Rest of the world. The President-elect of the European Commission also wants the High Representative to work on a renewed approach to the Sahel region and to ensure “a new impetus to [the] mutual partnership” with Africa with a view to the next EU-African Union summit in 2025, in close collaboration with Mr Síkela (see EUROPE 13484/6).
Deepening the EU’s engagement with partners in the Indo-Pacific region and developing a new EU-India strategic agenda, strengthening cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean and advancing the partnership between the EU and Central Asia are other tasks assigned to Ms Kallas by Ms von der Leyen.
She will be working with the Commissioner for Enlargement on a Black Sea strategy and a coordinated approach to support the countries of the Southern Caucasus, and will be assisted by the Commissioner for the Mediterranean in implementing the Gulf strategy.
In addition, Mrs Kallas will have to work to strengthen partnerships with like-minded countries, “notably to bolster our transatlantic partnership and strengthen our foreign and security cooperation with the United Kingdom”.
Security/Defence. Ms von der Leyen also wants the High Representative to ensure that security is at the heart of the EU’s action. “Europe must give itself the means to defend and protect itself and to deter potential adversaries. You will jointly coordinate the work on building a true European Defence Union”, she added. Together with the Commissioner for Defence and Space, Ms Kallas will have to propose a White Paper on the Future of European Defence within the first 100 days of her term of office (see other news).
The High Representative will also have to put in place a strengthened strategic approach to sanctions and lead work on a new horizontal set of restrictive measures against hybrid threats to the EU.
Finally, the President asks Ms Kallas to promote a “modern and integrated” foreign policy, which means working with the Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, Stéphane Séjourné, “to shape a new foreign economic policy” and contribute to the work on developing a new economic security doctrine (see EUROPE 13484/3). She will also have to work to ensure better linkage between the EU’s internal and external policies.
Finally, the President-elect called on Ms Kallas to make good use of the clauses in the Treaties allowing decisions on the Common Foreign and Security Policy to be taken by qualified majority.
See mission letters: https://aeur.eu/f/dgh (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)