Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, is battling on two fronts: a diplomatic controversy over allegedly comparing Israel to apartheid-era South Africa, and an intensifying institutional struggle that threatens to strip her of real power.

The accusation of antisemitism erupted after a Brussels-based publication reported the remarks, drawing sharp condemnation from the American Jewish Committee, which warned that such language fuels delegitimisation of Israel. Viewed from Israel, the episode risks further damaging EU-Israel relations. Yet inside the European capital, many diplomats suspect the scandal is not merely a foreign policy misstep but the product of internal bureaucratic strife. Some see it as a weapon in a deeper battle between EU institutions.

The tension centres on an open rift between Kallas and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. According to Euronews, a French government-linked document is circulating with reform proposals that would drastically reduce the High Representative’s influence. One option would shift foreign policy levers to the Commission, effectively placing von der Leyen in control; another would return them to national capitals, leaving Kallas a ceremonial figure. Von der Leyen has already drawn criticism for encroaching on external affairs, traditionally the High Representative’s domain.

Analysts in Moscow note that the spectacle of EU infighting offers a geopolitical opening for rivals, while European capitals worry about a leadership vacuum at a time of war in Ukraine and transatlantic uncertainty. The French document’s role hints at national capitals maneuvering to reclaim sovereignty, even as the Commission seeks to centralise power. The result is a climate of institutional sabotage that has left Kallas’s position more fragile than any of her predecessors’.

Whether the antisemitism row proves to be an isolated gaffe or a manufactured crisis will determine Kallas’s immediate future, but the structural assault on her post signals a turning point for EU foreign policy. If the reforms proceed, the bloc’s global voice could become diffuse, weakening its ability to act cohesively on the world stage.