Israel’s decision to sever ties with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has exposed a deepening battle at the heart of the European Union– an escalating rivalry between Kallas and Ursula von der Leyen over who should steer Europe’s foreign policy in an increasingly volatile world. It is a contest between competing visions of European power

When Israel announced last Thursday that it was cutting “all contact” with Estonia-born EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas after accusing her of comparing Israel’s treatment of Palestinians with apartheid-era South Africa, the fallout created an immediate political crisis in Brussels. The obvious casualty was Kallas, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs. But inside the EU’s power structure, some may have viewed the decision with quiet satisfaction. For Ursula von der Leyen, the powerful president of the European Commission and Kallas’s institutional superior, the controversy arrived at the height of their growing rivalry over who controls Europe’s foreign policy. A weakened Kallas would strengthen von der Leyen’s position in a battle that increasingly resembles a Cold War inside the EU itself.

This is not simply a clash between two ambitious women. It is a fight over what kind of power Europe wants to become. One side believes the European Union needs stronger central institutions, tighter coordination and a Commission powerful enough to act like a government. The other believes Europe’s influence depends on a strong diplomatic voice, clearer foreign policy and a tougher response to threats such as Russia. The rivalry between Kallas and von der Leyen is the latest battle in Europe’s unresolved argument over whether the EU should move towards something closer to a United States of Europe or remain a union of independent states. The irony is that both women want a stronger Europe. They simply disagree over who should control that strength.

Kallas entered Brussels in December 2024 with a reputation shaped by Estonia’s history, a country whose modern identity has been defined by Soviet occupation and fears........

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