Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top diplomat, has accused the United States of deliberately attempting to divide Europe, delivering an unusually sharp rebuke of Washington in an interview with the Financial Times.
The Estonian politician, who serves as the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, warned that American actions are undermining European unity at a moment when the continent faces multiple security and economic challenges.
"The US wants to divide Europe," Kallas told the FT, according to Reuters. The statement represents one of the most direct criticisms of American policy from a senior EU official in recent memory.
The remarks come amid growing trans-Atlantic tensions over burden-sharing in Ukraine, trade policy, and the current crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. European capitals have grown increasingly concerned that Washington's approach to diplomacy prioritizes bilateral deals with individual EU member states over engagement with Brussels as a collective entity.
Kallas, who assumed her role as the EU's foreign policy chief earlier this year, brings a particularly acute sensitivity to Russian aggression and American reliability. As a former prime minister of Estonia, a Baltic state that shares a border with Russia, she has long been among Europe's most vocal advocates for a strong NATO alliance.
Her willingness to criticize Washington publicly signals the depth of frustration within European institutions. To understand today's headlines, we must look at yesterday's decisions—and the erosion of trans-Atlantic consensus has been building for years.
The division referenced likely relates to recent American overtures to individual European nations on energy policy, defense procurement, and sanctions coordination. Several EU member states have pursued separate arrangements with on these issues, circumventing the bloc's collective decision-making processes.
