VIENNA — The European Union put the Kaja Kallas defense panel on hold just hours before its public debut, after several member states, reportedly including Germany, France and Italy, raised objections to the initiative.
Kaja Kallas defense panel controversy
The advisory group, first outlined by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas at an informal defense ministers’ meeting in Wicklow, Ireland, on Sept. 1, was intended to convene former political and military leaders to propose ways to close Europe’s military capability gaps more quickly. According to diplomats familiar with the plan, former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen was expected to chair the panel, with former defense ministers Jüri Luik of Estonia and Florence Parly of France among anticipated members. The United Kingdom and Ukraine were also expected to participate.
The formal unveiling, planned as a Sept. 7 fireside chat with Kallas at Brussels’ Bibliothèque Solvay before roughly 150 invitees, was canceled on the afternoon of Sept. 6, prior to any official confirmation of the group’s membership.
An EU official, speaking on background, said some capitals felt the move was not the right course at this time, adding that Kallas’s team would look for new ways to engage with member states.
Reports indicated that Berlin’s reservations were central to the reversal, and that France, Germany and Italy jointly opposed the plan, which had been informally compared to a “Draghi report for defense.”
Addressing reporters on Monday, a spokesperson for Germany’s defense ministry declined to comment on internal EU consultations, while underscoring that Berlin sees NATO as the primary forum for military capability planning.
“Fundamentally, defense and armaments policy are the responsibility of the member states, while capability planning and defense planning are derived from NATO planning,” the spokesperson said, noting that EU efforts including defense ministers’ meetings, PESCO, the EDF, SAFE and Military Mobility can usefully accompany that work. The spokesperson added that the EU regularly launches such initiatives, some of which gain traction and others less so.
The episode highlights ongoing tension between Kallas’s diplomatic service and the European Commission over who sets the bloc’s defense agenda. Some governments were said to worry the group would duplicate work led by Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius. Berlin has also advocated bringing parts of the European External Action Service under the Commission.
The suspension comes as Kallas has repeatedly warned that Europe cannot continue to “outsource” its defense to the United States and should accelerate rearmament as Russia ramps up hybrid and, increasingly, kinetic pressure on the EU’s eastern and northern flanks.
One EU official, speaking anonymously, said the core challenge remains unchanged despite the decision on the Kaja Kallas defense panel: Europe still needs to determine how to strengthen its defenses more rapidly. The debate comes as the EU weighs funding for Ukraine Patriot missiles purchase, underscoring wider questions about the bloc’s long-term security commitments.