The EU foreign policy chief is repeatedly criticized for thoughtless statements.
(Photo: Reuters)
Brussels Josep Borrell is Europe’s top diplomat by title. However, during the three years of his tenure, the EU foreign policy chief repeatedly made the headlines with thoughtless statements. In Brussels, the 75-year-old Spaniard is therefore considered a “loose cannon” who can trigger a diplomatic incident with every appearance.
It was that time again last week when Borrell said in a speech to young European diplomats: “Europe is a garden. Everything works.” Most of the rest of the world, however, is a jungle, and the jungle threatens to invade the garden.
Outrage followed quickly. Autocratic governments like Russia and Iran used the through ball to brand Europe as neocolonial. The United Arab Emirates even summoned the EU ambassador. But also partners like the Canadian UN ambassador Bob Rae spoke of a “terrible analogy”.
The pressure was so great that Borrell was forced to justify himself on Tuesday. He is sorry if some feel offended, the socialist wrote in a blog entry. He was “misunderstood”.
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He rejected the accusation of racism. He has long been of the opinion that Europe is far too “Eurocentric” and needs more exchange with the rest of the world.
In 2021, MEPs called for Borrell’s resignation
The metaphor of garden and jungle has been used in scientific discussions for decades, Borrell explained. It’s about the question of whether you want to live in a rule-based world order or under the law of the jungle, where only the right of the strongest counts.
The concept first became known through the book “The Jungle Grows Back” by the American neoconservative Robert Kagan, in which he calls for a robust defense of liberal democracy.
Borrell has given his critics in Brussels new fuel with the unfortunate metaphor. Last year, 70 MEPs called for his resignation after the Spaniard traveled to Moscow against the will of some member states and was brought before him by Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
“There were always question marks as to whether he was up to his task,” says conservative MEP Siegfried Muresan, who signed the resignation request at the time. Borrell must “think less out loud” and represent the common EU line more. Most recently, he said, he was resolute in his dealings with Russia.
Here, too, Borrell sometimes overshoots the mark. A few days ago he threatened that Russia would be “destroyed” by the West in the event of a first nuclear strike. Such a statement is beyond his competence, because the EU does not even have a conventional army, let alone nuclear weapons.
This is also the reason for Borrell’s basic problem: the EU is not an independent player in foreign policy and is often a powerless spectator of world events.
Borrell recently publicly vented his frustration when he reprimanded the assembled EU ambassadors for not providing him with relevant news quickly enough. “I should be the most informed person in the world,” he said. “Sometimes I learn more from the newspapers than from your reports.”
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