EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said the UN Security Council "is not working the way it was meant to be," arguing that the body fails to reflect the realities of today's world and lacks effective accountability mechanisms.
Speaking at a panel during the Munich Security Conference on Friday, Kallas said the current global order must be reformed to ensure that no country is above international law.
She said that major international crises have historically led to the development of international cooperation, but argued that what is currently missing is accountability.
"Everybody signs up to the United Nations Charter; the principles are there. But what happens if somebody breaches those principles? The accountability is clearly not working," Kallas said.
"The (UN) Security Council is not working the way it was meant to be. The United Nations is not reflecting the world as it currently is," she added.
"If we reform, then we should actually take into account the world as it currently is, where all the states are equal, and also that nobody is above the law," Kallas said, emphasising that even the "most powerful countries" must face consequences if they violate agreed rules.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also warned that the rules-based international order no longer exists as it once did and announced proposals to address challenges in an increasingly fractured world.
In a keynote speech at the Munich Security Conference, Merz said the world has entered a dangerous period of great power rivalries, with a growing number of wars and conflicts threatening global peace and security.
Different rules
In response to a question about repeated ceasefire violations by Israel in Gaza and who would hold it accountable, Kallas reiterated her call for the equal application of international law.
While she acknowledged that powerful states have often operated by different rules, she argued that cooperation, not dominance, ultimately ensures strength.
"But even in the jungle, you know, animals cooperate, and so you are better off when you work with others," she said.
Drawing a comparison between major powers, Kallas noted that when Russia wages war, it does so largely alone due to a lack of allies.
"When America goes to wars, you know, then a lot of us go with you, and we lose our people on the way. So, that means that you also need us to be this superpower," she added.
