By Ilayda Cakirtekin
ISTANBUL (AA) - EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Monday said the UN is "not delivering the way it should" and reiterated the need to develop an international law with countries seeking rules-based order.
"As we heard, United Nations definitely is not delivering the way it should," Kallas said as she was speaking at the Oslo Security Conference.
She acknowledged that there are many countries that want a rules-based order, underlining that the international order protects them.
"We are in this situation where we have to really develop this international law further with those countries who want rules-based order," Kallas said.
Stressing that the UN Charter principles are "very good," she noted that the accountability part is "lacking."
- 'Having dependencies is making you vulnerable'
Kallas also highlighted the need for Europe to build up its own defenses, adding that having dependencies makes the bloc "vulnerable."
"We have learned the hard way that (...) having dependencies is making you vulnerable," she said.
Further referring to EU defense ministers “always” citing national budgets and decisions, Kallas argued that if the bloc strengthens its defense collectively, it can “actually cover a bigger area.”
In the meantime, Kallas also noted that people saying they need a European army "haven't really thought this through practically."
"You know that you have one army, you have one defense budget, so if you are already part of NATO, and then you can't create a separate army besides the army that you already have. Because in terms of crisis, what is most important is the chain of command. Who gives orders to whom?" she explained.
Kallas added that having two such separate European and NATO armies would be “extremely dangerous.”
"That's why I say we have to strengthen European defense, which is also part of NATO. It is really complementary to NATO. Let's not throw NATO out to the window," she said.