European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas delivered a sharp rebuke Tuesday to Belgium's proposal to normalize ties with Moscow and resume purchases of discounted Russian energy, exposing deep fissures within the bloc over how to balance economic pressures against security principles. The confrontation, playing out at an EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, mirrors the broader Western disunity exemplified by France's refusal to support Hormuz operations.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo had proposed that the EU reconsider its energy sanctions against Russia, arguing that elevated energy prices are undermining European competitiveness and fueling political extremism. With natural gas prices having tripled since the Ukraine invasion began, De Croo contended that pragmatism should triumph over what he termed "moral posturing."
Kallas, the former Estonian prime minister who assumed the EU foreign policy role with strong backing from Baltic and Eastern European states, rejected the proposal categorically. "There is no appetite within the European Union for energy deals with Russia while Russian forces occupy Ukrainian territory," she stated, according to Reuters.

