At the forefront of the European Union’s dramatic policy shift on Israel is its foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, who has become the public face of a high-risk diplomatic gambit. By proposing the bloc’s toughest-ever measures, Kallas is steering the EU into a direct confrontation with a key partner in a bid to halt the Gaza war.
In a clear and direct press conference, Kallas laid out the moral and political justification for the plan, emphasizing it was not designed “to punish Israel or Israel people, but to really try to pressure (the) Israeli government to change course.” Her leadership in articulating this vision is crucial in the effort to rally the bloc’s 27 deeply divided member states behind the controversial proposal.
The plan she is championing is multifaceted, combining personal sanctions against Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich with sweeping new tariffs on Israeli goods. It is a complex package that required careful legal and political groundwork, reflecting a new level of assertiveness from the EU’s foreign policy arm under her direction.
However, Kallas’s initiative faces formidable opposition. Israel has launched a furious diplomatic counter-attack, accusing the EU of emboldening terrorists. Internally, she must navigate the entrenched pro-Israel positions of several member states, making the path to achieving a qualified majority for the sanctions a significant political challenge.
The success or failure of this bold proposal will be a defining moment of Kaja Kallas’s tenure. If it succeeds, she will be seen as having forged a more muscular and values-driven EU foreign policy. If it fails, it will be another stark reminder of the institutional constraints that limit the EU’s power on the world stage.