Politico: Kallas privately complains that von der Leyen is a dictator

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaya Kallas complains about the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyencalling her a dictator behind her back. This was reported by the newspaper Politico about unnamed interlocutors familiar with the matter.

The media outlet devoted a piece to officials in Brussels. It said that the bloc's diplomatic body (the European External Action Service) was established in 2010, and the job of its head has always been difficult, as member states, especially the big ones, seek to keep foreign policy in their own hands.

The interlocutors said that the relationship between von der Leyen and the former head of European diplomacy Joseph Borrell were very bad. With Callas, the situation is even worse.

The Mediterranean region was selected for Callas because last year the European Commission created the Directorate-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf. At the same time, the EC is actively working on plans to reduce the size of the European External Action Service.

In an attempt to fight back, Kallas tried to appoint the influential Martin Selmayr, former chief of staff of the previous head of the European Commission, as her deputy Jean-Claude Juncker. However, this decision was blocked by von der Leyen's office.

"Kallas privately complains that she [von der Leyen] is a dictator, but there is not much she can do about it," said one senior official.

Kallas is also from small Estonia, and her party, the Liberals, is insignificant, making her position even weaker than Borrell's (a socialist from Spain). The office of the top diplomat did not respond to a request for comment.

• On October 9, 2025, it was reported that The European Parliament rejected the vote no confidence in the European Commission President from far-right and left-wing groups.
• In November, the FT wrote that the EC started creating a new intelligence unit under the leadership of von der Leyen.