Kaja Kallas warns that Europe's security can no longer be outsourced.

In a speech at the annual conference of the European Defence Agency, High Representative Kaja Kallas stated that Europe is no longer the focal point of American strategy and that the Union must quickly take responsibility for its own security, industrial, economic, and military.

The European Union is approaching a strategic inflection point in terms of security, warned High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, Kaja Kallas, stating that Europe's dependence on external guarantees is no longer sustainable in a world marked by systemic rivalries and geopolitical fragmentation.

In short

Kaja Kallas says that Europe is no longer the strategic priority of the USA.

Russia is described as a long-term structural threat.

China is treated as a strategic risk, not just an economic competitor.

The fragmentation of European defense weakens the capacity to respond.

The European defense industry is called to deliver capabilities quickly.

The debate on the qualified majority decision in foreign policy is reopened.

In her keynote speech at the annual conference of the European Defence Agency, Kaja Kallas delivered a clear message: Europe's security can no longer be "outsourced" to the United States. According to her, Washington will remain an essential ally and partner, but Europe no longer represents the focal point of American strategy, and this change is structural, not temporary.

"The United States will remain our ally, but Europe is no longer their main strategic priority."

Kallas emphasized that this reality obliges the European Union to take much greater responsibility for its own security, including through coordinated investments, common capabilities, and reducing industrial and military fragmentation. She warned that Europe's problem is not a lack of financial resources, but a lack of coordination and complementarity among member states.

Russia has been described as a long-term threat, not just a conjunctural risk. According to the High Representative, Moscow continues to use hybrid tools, from cyberattacks and sabotage to information manipulation, and economic and military security can no longer be separated. Kallas warned that economic dependencies can become direct strategic vulnerabilities.

At the same time, China is positioned beyond the status of "systemic competitor." Kallas stated that Beijing represents a strategic risk, including through indirect support for Russia and its impact on global supply chains. Europe must, in this context, protect its industrial base and reduce critical dependencies.

One of the strongest passages of the speech was the warning about the urgency of political decision-making. Kallas used the metaphor of the "three bells," suggesting that Europe is close to the moment when inaction will have irreversible consequences.

"We have already heard the first bell. The second is a final warning. The third comes with consequences."

The fragmentation of European defense has been identified as one of the greatest vulnerabilities. The High Representative criticized the lack of interoperability, the overlap of national systems, and uncoordinated acquisitions, emphasizing that these reduce the efficiency of investments and the capacity for rapid response.

The European defense industry has been placed directly at the center of responsibility. Kallas called on the industry to deliver faster, scale production, and respond to real security needs, warning that strategic autonomy cannot exist without internal industrial capacity.

The speech also touched on a sensitive institutional topic: decision-making mechanisms. Kallas suggested that the use of unanimity in foreign and security policy allows for blockages and political blackmail and indicated the need to expand decision-making by qualified majority, as well as to use existing treaty instruments more actively, including the mutual defense clause.

The annual conference of the European Defence Agency takes place at a time of major pressure on the European security architecture, against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, tensions in the Indo-Pacific, and changes in the strategic priorities of the United States. The message conveyed by Kaja Kallas reflects an acceleration of the European political discourse towards assuming strategic autonomy in defense.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/stiri/kaja-kallas-avertizeaza-ca-securitatea-europei-nu-mai-poate-fi-externalizata