The "New Iron Lady of Europe" is facing doubts about "Russia to Russia"!

Release time:Apr 16, 2024 20:35 PM

Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Karas helped her Estonian Reform Party win the 2023 general election due to her strong stance towards Russia. Recently, Karas has been heavily criticized for his spouse's business interests with Russia, and there have been constant calls from various sectors in Estonia for his resignation.

"The New Iron Lady of Europe"

Karas was elected as the Prime Minister of Estonia for the first time in 2021, and also the first female Prime Minister in the country's history. Many media outlets in Europe regard her as a spokesperson for the Baltic countries, and she has been dubbed the "New Iron Lady of Europe" for her tough attitude towards Russia.

Since 2021, Karas has been persistently opposing the North Stream 2 natural gas pipeline plan. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is the world's longest underwater pipeline used for natural gas transportation between Russia and Europe. Due to geopolitical reasons, the United States and some Eastern European countries strongly opposed the construction of North Stream 2. After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Karas repeatedly said that the Beixi 2 natural gas pipeline is "a geopolitical project, not an economic project" and urged the termination of the pipeline plan. She also stated that Europe's dependence on Russian natural gas is a major political issue.

After the outbreak of the Russia Ukraine crisis, Karas advocated for supporting Estonia to trigger NATO Article 4 with other allies, which states that "when NATO member states are threatened with territorial integrity, political independence, or security, at the proposal of any member state, NATO countries will engage in emergency consultations," and has repeatedly promised political and material support to Ukraine. By April 2022, military equipment accounting for approximately 0.8% of Estonia's GDP had been transferred to Ukraine, making Estonia the country with the highest proportion of military equipment provided to Ukraine in terms of GDP at that time. In addition, she was also a major supporter of the EU's previous push for "seclusion" from Russia. In September 2022, when Estonia and several other Baltic countries planned to introduce measures to restrict the entry of Russian tourists, Karas stated that "traveling to the European Union is a privilege, not a human right.". She also strongly supports Ukraine's accession to the European Union, stating that it is a "moral obligation" to do so.

Karas also often uses the issue of the Russia-Ukraine conflict to make a voice on EU affairs. This year, she called for "Let's build a Europe with combat capabilities", demanding that European governments increase defense spending and use long-term defense procurement commitments to help European defense companies increase production and capacity. No wonder many media outlets have speculated that Karas may have had plans to take over as NATO Secretary General. Meanwhile, many sources have revealed that Baltic countries hope to jointly elect Karas to compete for the position of EU institutional leader next year.

Spouse's commercial interests in Russia

At the end of August, Estonian media reported that a logistics company in which Calas's husband Alvo Halik shares shares has been operating logistics business in Russia and sending goods to Russia since the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Estonian Public Broadcasting Company revealed that Halik owns a 24.8% stake in a transportation company called Stark Logistics. One of the company's clients distributes metal packaging products in Russia, so Stark Logistics is entrusted with logistics and transportation services.

After the news was hyped up by major Estonian media, Stark Logistics was forced to issue a notice stating that it would terminate logistics services within Russia in September. However, many media said that Stark Logistics' customers have sold nearly 30 million euros of products in Russia since the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and Stark Logistics has earned about 1.5 million euros from transportation.

The new law introduced by Karas herself clearly stipulates that only state-owned companies can operate in Russia, while the company held by her husband is private. Although Karas later admitted to her husband's shares in the company, she denied any misconduct by herself or her husband. Karas stated that the company's business in Russia is to assist Estonian clients in ending their operations in Russia, and insisted that they have not spent a single euro, US dollar, or ruble in Russia. Stark Logistics subsequently expressed support for Karas's statement to the media that the company's business in Russia is to assist Estonian customers in ending production in the country, and their work has not contributed to the Russian economy in any way, nor has it violated Estonian or European sanctions laws. Halik subsequently stated that he would sell his shares in Stark Logistics.

However, the investigation by Estonian Daily stated that the statements made by Stark Logistics and Halik were not true, and Stark Logistics' related customers were not Karas' plans to terminate their business in Russia, but were previously discussing the possibility of further expanding their business in Russia.

Backfire by one's own slogans

Many Estonians have not forgotten that Callas once called for "Estonian companies to stop all transactions related to Russia" after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Her husband's scandal instantly aroused opposition to her in Estonia. Estonian media commentators have pointed out that for many Estonians, Karas now seems to have two faces.

The Estonian Institute of Social Issues conducted a public opinion survey at the end of August. Among the respondents, 57% believe that Karas should resign; 31% of people believe that Karas should provide an explanation but can continue working; Only 7% of people believe that Karas should not provide any explanation. The Estonian opposition party has been publicly demanding Karas's resignation after the scandal, believing that the scandal has tarnished Estonia's international reputation. In addition, the opposition party has proposed the establishment of a special committee to investigate Stark Logistics' business operations in Russia.

Estonian President Alar Karis, who traditionally did not participate in partisan political struggles, has recently hinted that the Prime Minister should have resigned long ago. President Karis stated in an interview that "the business activities between Prime Minister Karas' family and Russia have raised many doubts in the media and society, and have drawn attention to the values that government leaders and Estonia must adhere to." President Karis believes that this event will affect the trust relationship between Estonia and its allies. President Karis also stated that the Prime Minister should undergo a hearing and questioning by a parliamentary committee on this matter.

In the end, Karas agreed to attend the hearing of the special committee, but the parliamentary hearing on September 4th turned into chaos. According to Ai Media, during the hearing, committee chairman Matt Helm, deputy chairman of the Conservative People's Party Ecre, and Karas were almost constantly loudly refuting each other. Karas assured at the hearing that she had not done anything wrong. She reiterated her previous statement that she only discussed the Stark Logistics transaction with her husband after the scandal broke out.

After the hearing, Karas told the media that she had been subjected to political bullying, and the opposition party hoped to use this matter to intimidate her into resigning. Karas insists that creating a government crisis at present is not conducive to Estonia's security. The opposition party, on the other hand, stated that Karas is missing out on the best opportunity to resign with dignity.

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