Kallas cancels the creation of an EU high-level group on defense

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has abandoned the creation of a High-Level Group on Defence made up of former political and military leaders under pressure from EU member states, primarily Germany and Italy.

This was reported by the newspaper Politico.

Brussels' refusal to implement the initiative, put forward by Kallas on September 1, 2026, at a meeting of defense ministers in Ireland, could become, according to the publication, another blow to the position of the former prime minister of Estonia. Kallas is leading a behind-the-scenes struggle against Franco-German plans to reform the European External Action Service, and the defense initiative, according to diplomats, is an attempt to resist such steps.

Opponents of the proposal fear that the powers of the new group would duplicate the work of the European Commission, overlapping with the activities of European Commissioner for Defence Andrius Kubilius. "Some member states felt that this was not the path that should be taken at this moment," one EU official said.

"After discussions with the ministers, we decided to abandon this initiative and are considering new ways of engaging with the member states," he specified.

The presentation of the High-Level Group on Defence was to take place on Monday morning in Brussels at the Solvay Library. Around 150 people from EU institutions, think tanks, academic circles, and NATO were expected to attend.

The names of the group's members were kept secret by Kallas's office, however, according to three diplomats, it was to be headed by former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The group was expected to include former defense ministers such as Jüri Luik of Estonia and Florence Parly of France. It was also planned that non-EU countries, such as the United Kingdom and Ukraine, would be represented in it.