Kaja Kallas
@kajakallas · Europe
Kaja Kallas is followed by Storyz World for government and public service coverage across the Europe chapter.
The UK and 11 other countries today announced their support for trade sanctions targeting illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. All EU Member States agree that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law. The Israeli Government’s settlement expansions in the West Bank are undermining the prospects for a viable two-State solution. The EU remains the largest donor of humanitarian assistance to Gaza and the West Bank. We remain firmly committed to supporting a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the two-State solution, with two states living side-by-side in peace within secure and recognised borders.
Lukashenko has made Belarus a platform for Russia’s war. His regime threatens its European neighbours and weaponises illegal migration against them. Today, I have visited the Padvarionys Frontier Station between Lithuania and Belarus with Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas. The sophistication of the migrant smuggling tunnels points to organised support, and are strong indications that Minsk has been lending a hand. Lithuania’s border security is a shared European responsibility. We must accelerate the Eastern Flank Watch, working closely with NATO, and keep up our sanctions pressure.
The public glorification afforded to a convicted war criminal in Belgrade is an affront to the memory of the victims, their families, and all those who suffered during the conflicts in the Western Balkans. True reconciliation cannot be built on revisionism, the denial of genocide or the honouring of perpetrators. Serbia's path into the European Union requires an unequivocal commitment to fundamental European values and historical truth. There is no place in Europe for the glorification of war criminals.
Lithuanians know the price of freedom well. They bring that clarity to Europe. Today with President @GitanasNauseda and Prime Minister @mindaugassink, we discussed a range of issues, including Russia’s increasingly brazen and reckless hybrid attacks. We must be ready for further provocations on European soil. Together, we must ensure Europe has the resolve, the resources and the capabilities to defend itself. My press conference with Prime Minister @mindaugassink ↓
September brings new beginnings. I’m very glad to welcome today @eu_eeas’s new Secretary-General, @KajsaOllongren. I’m sure her experience and leadership will be a real asset as we sharpen Europe’s ability to act abroad. I very much look forward to working together. A heartfelt thank you to Belén Martínez Carbonell for all her work in advancing EU foreign policy and bringing our Delegations closer to Brussels. Belén will be heading our @ueenmexico Delegation.
Russia bombed civilians at record levels this summer. Yet Russians continued to enter and enjoy the hospitality of European countries. It should not work this way. There was broad support today among Foreign Ministers to move with an EU visa entry ban for Russian ex-combatants and tougher visa restrictions on Russian tourists. My press conference with @HMcEntee following today’s meeting of Foreign Ministers ↓
The Leipzig attacks have all the hallmarks of state-sponsored terrorism. We will respond with resolve. 1.600 listings for the military complex of Russia are already in the pipeline, and we stand ready to add more. We have also summoned the Russian representative to the EU, as have many Member States. My press remarks ahead of today’s meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers ↓
Russia is hitting Europe with a wave of increasingly kinetic hybrid attacks. With this, Putin wants to scare us away from supporting Ukraine. He will not succeed. To the contrary, we will increase our support and invest in our own defence. We are also planning the most far-reaching sanctions against Russia yet. This is the best way to stop Putin. My press conference with @HMcEntee following today’s meeting of Defence Ministers ↓
Russia is escalating attacks on Ukrainian civilians. July and August were the deadliest months since the war started. But Ukrainians are standing strong. We must stand with them. That’s why air defence is our top priority. Some countries have interceptors that will soon expire. Those could be sent to Ukraine to help protect Ukrainian lives. My press remarks ahead of the meeting of Defence Ministers ↓
Illegal oil sales from shadow fleet ships are a critical lifeline for Russia’s war in Ukraine, and we’ll continue to cut them off. The oil tanker MV SUN, suspected of sailing under false flag in breach of international maritime law, was boarded on 30 August in the Mediterranean by Operation @EUNAVFOR_MED IRINI forces for flag verification. This is the sixth suspected shadow fleet vessel boarded by our EU operations in recent months. Actions against the shadow fleet will be among the topics when EU Defence Ministers gather in Ireland on Tuesday.
It is with great sadness I learnt of the passing of HM King Harald V. My first thoughts go to a nation in grief, to the Royal Family and the people of Norway. King Harald was truly the people’s King, a lifelong defender of freedom and champion of an open Norwegian democracy and society. I wish the Norwegian nation strength at this difficult time.
On Ukraine’s Independence Day, we honour the extraordinary courage of the Ukrainian people. For more than a third of its time as a sovereign nation, Ukraine has had to fight to prevent Russia from taking away its freedom. Today, I joined the Coalition of the Willing to discuss bolstering Ukraine’s air defence, support for winter, and further pressure on Moscow. Through the Ukraine Support Loan, the EU has already disbursed €8.47 billion in defence support, with more support, including for air defence, in preparation. I am proposing tougher sanctions on Russia this autumn, and we’re further tightening the net around Russia’s shadow fleet to deprive Moscow of funds to wage war. The stronger we make Ukraine, the faster we force Russia to the negotiating table.
Russia’s attack against a shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih shows the absolute and utter depravity of Moscow’s war. This is terror by design. Russia wants to make Ukrainian cities unliveable. I am putting forward the most far-reaching Russia sanctions listings since the start of the war. The pressure must be intensified until Moscow ends the war. EU Foreign and Defence Ministers will discuss how to expand our support for Ukraine, including air and missile defence, when they meet in less than two weeks in Dublin.
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