The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, cancelled a high-level defense working group that was set to be launched today and included former Portuguese minister João Gomes Cravinho. The group was cancelled after some member states considered the initiative untimely.
The working group was to be chaired by former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and composed of five former defense ministers, including Gomes Cravinho, as well as Florence Parly, Ben Wallace, Andriy Zagorodnyuk, and Juri Luik. The Dutch Rob Bauer and German General Chris Badia would complete the lineup.
Gomes Cravinho confirmed he was invited and received an email cancelling the meeting. Kallas had announced the group last week with the aim of addressing gaps in Europe's conventional military capability and assessing how the EU should respond to the hybrid attack campaign it attributes to Russia.
The cancellation comes at a time when the effectiveness of the European External Action Service and the High Representative position is being questioned. Germany and France had proposed strengthening the position and integrating EEAS services into the European Commission, which has been interpreted as a proposal to dissolve the EU's diplomatic service.
