The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, said on Wednesday 3 September that the European Union is only taken seriously when it uses its political power, and that to do so it must be united.
Explaining that a new global order was in the making, Mrs Kallas told EUISS that this new order would be shaped “by what Europe is willing to do”, by the willingness of Europeans to recognise the need for Europe to play a geopolitical role and to strengthen its geopolitical power to achieve this.
“Europe must build its geopolitical power. This power may be based on either military might or economic force. There’s no doubt that Europe has economic power (...). Our military might, on the other hand, has never been strong enough”, explained the High Representative. She pointed out, however, that the EU was developing its military capabilities and that Europe’s annual munitions production capacity was six times greater than it was two years ago.
However, according to Mrs Kallas, it is not enough to strengthen political power, you have to use it. “We are only taken seriously when we are willing to use that power. And what it requires is our unity to use that power”, she explained. And she added: “Europe can only use its full force as a geopolitical power when we act together”.
Returning to the question of unanimity, the head of diplomacy said that Europeans had to think about how to unite or change the rules in order to be able to take decisions. “Our people, especially young people who are losing trust in the European Union because we can’t deliver”, she warned.
In addition to the unity of the EU27, Mrs Kallas called for international cooperation. Explaining that she had outlined the main concerns of the Europeans to the Chinese at the Summit - support for Russia and China’s coercive economic practices - she revealed that her Chinese counterparts knew that the EU would not act. To remedy the situation, “we need to work with the United States, India, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico...”, explained the High Representative, regretting that Washington has trade disputes with all these partners, “which weakens these countries and strengthens China”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)