There you go: Estonia’s Kaja Kallas will be the EU’s Top Diplomat

Why the Speakerphone with Kaja Kallas Will Make a Huge Difference

Nominees for three of the top jobs in the European Union have been agreed upon:

• Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas will be the European Union’s top diplomat.
• European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen will be nominated to serve a second term.
• Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa is set to become European Council President.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has already been appointed as NATO’s next Secretary General.

When I started, albeit in a very slow fashion, to cover Ukraine two years ago, there was one name I kept going back to. I was new and learning by reading and watching. I was also learning by listening. As the war progressed, I was able to group people into buckets. There was a bucket which I labeled ‘must listen.’

Not because they were people of power or because they had a history, but because they were right from the start and the world kept ignoring their words at their own peril. I do change the people in that ‘must listen’ bucket depending on their evolution. That happened plenty of times. French President Macron is a great example. I have moved him through all the different buckets I have had.

But it was Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas who remained firmly in the ‘must listen’ bucket. Over time, she only strengthened my conviction that she is one of the few voices who, if we listen to, will make our future brighter.

Someone said she is the Iron Lady of Europe. I think she is.

It has almost been a year since I wrote the following story:

Her courage to stand by her convictions is what separates her from most politicians around the world. When the war broke out in the neighborhood, Kaja Kallas, the Prime Minister of Estonia, quickly swung into action.

The short 363-kilometer distance between Estonia’s capital, Tallinn, and St. Petersburg in Russia should have made her feel drained. But instead of recoiling in fear of the Russian army that was predicted to roll over NATO forces in 60 hours, she led the Baltic rally to support Ukraine.

She had no confusion whatsoever about the path forward. She knew what needed to be done even before the war began. As large democracies like Germany, France, and the United States took forever to get going, the tiny Estonia, led by Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, had no doubts about the direction they needed to proceed.

She was clear: Ukraine needs weapons to fight. Estonia will give. They will also welcome any Ukrainians who are fleeing the war zone. Her actions allowed other players in the region to do the same. From the day Russia invaded Ukraine, the small Baltic country has remained at the top of Ukraine’s supporters list. They were there at the start of the war. They are there now. They will be there when the war ends.

Political will matters. Courage matters. A vision about the future matters. Very rarely do we find someone like that. In Kaja Kallas, we do have someone with all three qualities. I was hoping that she would get the NATO Secretary General’s post, but I also knew that the position is so politically sensitive for the big four that they would never allow someone like Kaja Kallas to take over.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will be NATO’s Secretary General. But the pressure that was piled by many on the system to get Kaja Kallas a role in Europe paid off. She will be Europe’s top diplomat.

What is this role? Why does it matter?

The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission chairs regular meetings of the EU’s 27 foreign, defense, and development ministers, and represents the EU at G7 and G20 ministerial meetings.

This role does not have the power to execute things. That will lie with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO’s Secretary General. But that in itself is a big b.s., isn’t it? These are gilded cages. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, a good man, wanted to create a NATO fund that would allow NATO to independently make certain decisions on aid.

The United States did not like the idea and it was promptly dropped. Stoltenberg and many others in Europe want Ukraine to join NATO. But we are still where we were two years ago. No clear path for Ukraine to join NATO. The reason is that the big powers want to dangle that carrot, which is Ukraine, to Putin, in order to goad him into a withdrawal.

All their judgments about Putin have been wrong since day one of this war. That trend shows no sign of abating. But we should also note here that there is something that makes both the United States as well as Germany react positively.

They react positively to public pressure. Both governments do not like the spotlight. Whenever you put them there, they quietly deliver. No tanks. No missiles. No air-defense. No fighter jets. All these decisions came about when an intense public spotlight was placed on them. But you still need political leaders to do that job.

The leaders of Poland, Estonia, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, and many other nations, have often taken that role. Whenever a group of these nations joined hands and made an argument, things have always moved in the right direction. It was painfully slow. But it works.

As the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas will be there talking to the big powers. Someone who has the foresight will be working from the inside and not from the outside. Her words will carry weight. Next time Poland and Britain try to upend the status quo, like they did in January 2023, when they broke the no-tanks-to-Ukraine barrier, they may have strong support from the EU’s top diplomat.

What a difference one man, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, has made to the Biden Administration. You need to write a book. You can’t write a small article about it. Kaja Kallas can now do the same. When Blinken speaks, nations have to listen and respond. When Blinken calls, diplomats will answer. With the EU brand slapped on her nameplate, Kaja Kallas will be able to influence the world a lot better than before.

Having her at the top of the EU is far better than having her outside. Some day we may very well end up in the negotiation table with Kremlin’s interlocutors on the other side. I would be a little more confident to have some one who understands their negotiation tactics.

Here she is, explaining how they negotiate:

So, we have to keep that in mind all the time.

Thanks for reading. Making critical information on Ukraine accessible is one way to fight misinformation. That’s why I’ve made 214 stories free to the public in 2024, including this one. Feel free to share it with anyone.