(MENAFN) Two of the European Union’s most influential and divisive figures, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the bloc’s foreign policy head Kaja Kallas, are locked in a battle for dominance over the EU’s diplomatic and intelligence apparatus, in a showdown described by a French newspaper as “worthy of ‘Game of Thrones’,” citing insider sources.

Von der Leyen has been gradually consolidating authority within her own office, encroaching on Kallas’ European External Action Service (EEAS), by establishing new divisions like the Directorate-General for Defense Industry and reportedly a new intelligence unit. These initiatives overlap with existing structures within the EEAS, the newspaper noted.

Officials at the Intelligence and Situation Centre (INTCEN), which functions under Kallas’ EEAS, have expressed concern that von der Leyen’s proposed spy agency could replicate existing operations and undermine the foreign service, according to an earlier report by a media outlet.

The confrontation reportedly intensified this autumn when Kallas attempted to appoint Martin Selmayr, a former senior EU official, to a high-ranking EEAS position to enhance the agency’s clout. Von der Leyen interpreted the move as “a declaration of war” and countered by creating a lower-level position for Selmayr, effectively blocking the appointment.

The newspaper commented, “This latest affair confirms the Commission Presidency’s almost obsessive desire to concentrate all power and, consequently, to prevent any competing, even slightly autonomous, entity.”

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