Kallas calls the US accusations “ridiculous” and defends freedom in the EU

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy, Kaja Kallas, described as “ridiculous” this Tuesday the accusations by the United States against Europe in its National Security Strategy in which it charged against the EU for being part of the continent’s “problems” for “undermining political freedom and sovereignty.”

“We know that it is ridiculous. What they are saying about the European Union is not true. I come from a country that did not have a free press, it did not have freedoms. I know what I am talking about. I know the difference and I can say that Europe is very free and very liberal,” defended the head of European diplomacy in a speech before the Foreign Affairs committee of the European Parliament.

Before the MEPs, Kallas has insisted on not entering into hand-to-hand combat with Washington, insisting that the controversial document that marks the general lines of North American foreign policy in the world seeks to confront Europe and become news.

“I think we must be sure of ourselves. We know that those things are not true. The problems that appear in the national security strategy are no worse in Europe than in the United States,” he indicated, defending that the EU must be confident, “stay calm,” and work on its own course.

The former Estonian prime minister has regretted that the reactions to the controversies generated by Washington generate divisions, both between Euro-Atlantic partners and within the EU itself, which is why she has avoided delving into the US foreign strategy so as not to give more “entity” to the document.

The US State Department’s vision encapsulates the ideology of US President Donald Trump, stating that Europe must “regain its self-esteem as a civilization” and calling for it to “abandon its failed approach to regulatory suffocation.”

Washington criticizes that there are “European officials” who maintain “unrealistic expectations about the war” and accuses them of a divorce from European society, by being “perched in minority governments, many of which trample on the basic principles of democracy to repress the opposition.”

Only the president of the European Council, António Costa, has responded directly to the hostile North American document, warning that the allies do not threaten each other with interfering in each other’s democratic life. In a speech, he asked that the European Union begin to accept that alliances “are no longer the same” as they were in the past and defend the strength of Europe.

WITHOUT EUROPE A PEACE PLAN WILL NOT WORK

In the midst of negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, the High Representative has insisted on maintaining pressure on Russia, understanding that Ukraine is already agreeing to important “concessions” while Moscow is not predisposed to peace.

“From that starting point, it can only get worse. That is why we have maintained this very clear position that we should not fall into those traps,” he stated, reiterating that the EU must have confidence in itself and become strong in the process based on the idea that “for any peace plan to work, Europeans are needed.”

According to Kallas, “one can agree on anything” but if the Europeans and Ukrainians do not agree to the peace pact to end the Russian invasion, “it just won’t work.” That is why he considers that the EU has “influence” in the process and is in a position to “make demands on Russia.”