Josep Borrell against Russia, Trump and Ursula von der Leyen

Josep Borrell and Ursula von der Leyen.

A very revealing interview published with Monsieur Borrell. The Spanish newspaper ‘El Pais’ writes about the event. Borrell, as head of European diplomacy, speaks very frankly about the problems that he chose to ignore for many years. He recognizes the very difficult situation in which Europe finds itself. Moreover, Borrell directly attacked Ursula von der Leyen, who is his direct supervisor. This demonstrates great excitement and nervous tension in the leadership of the European Union:

Approaching his 77th birthday, the EU High representative for foreign policy Josep Borrell avoids the stiff language of European orthodoxy and with all these risks in the four corners of the world he offers a discourse that, paradoxically, views the greatest danger from within: “What scares me most is the fear of Europeans.”

“It is a diffuse fear. An all-pervading horizon of distrust, a vague feeling of dread. With a war next door and another nearby. With shocks in Africa and the suspicion that migrants may arrive in an uncontrolled manner. With a defense that we outsourced to the U.S., a military umbrella that Trump may close, with cheap energy that will no longer come from Russia, with the certainty that we are losing markets in Asia,” he says.

“We are an aging continent in a young world, hence this mixture of fear and uncertainty. Against that, there are always those who offer a clear, simple, and false answer: the extremists, those hyper-muscled leaderships that tell us: ‘We are strong, they’ll see.’”

Borrell stresses: “The European elections will be fundamental.”

“Europe has realized that it lives in a dangerous world; it has an aggressive state on its borders. It must ask itself whether it wants a puppet of Moscow in Kyiv, with Russian troops on the Polish border, and the risk of another invasion? Do we want it to arrive at the gates of Europe and control 36% of the world grain market? The Russians have shown resilience: they are used to hardship and are not asked if they would prefer anything other than a war economy. We have to ask ourselves: What we can do?

Europe is not at war, but it doesn’t quite understand what this war means for it either. My appeal to the member states to make their support consistent with the kind of war we are facing, a mixture of those of the 20th century and the most modern technologies. We need to do more, and quickly: in the next few months the war may be decided. To resist is to win.”

On the other side of the Atlantic, Trump has threatened to break the traditional framework of NATO deterrence. “It is barbaric that he invites Russia to attack those countries that do not meet his conditions. And it is barbaric that there are Republicans who compare the Ukrainian war with the migratory pressure from Mexico. We have to assume responsibilities, increase defense capabilities, and be prepared for any eventuality. Trump has not won yet, just as Putin has not won yet, but Europe has to wake up.”

In addition to Ukraine, Gaza is the other focus of international attention, with 1.7 million Palestinians crushed against a wall. What will Europe do in the event of a catastrophe? “We are already in the midst of a catastrophe. The United Nations has had to suspend humanitarian aid: Israel is using famine as a weapon of war and that is contrary to international law. Gaza has been razed to the ground: the use of force has been disproportionate.”

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, made a visit to Tel Aviv during which she defended Israel’s right to defend itself without placing any limits on the government. “Von der Leyen’s trip, with such a completely pro-Israeli position, without representing anyone but herself in a matter of international politics, has carried a high geopolitical cost for Europe.”

Borrell concludes with a message for Von der Leyen: “It is legitimate for her to want a second term, but she should not pretend to take personal credit for all the successes: there is a college of commissioners of different political colors who have taken decisions. She should be more careful with neutrality when she is both president and candidate. She should focus on ensuring that her party, the European PP, does not fall into the temptation of allying itself with the extremists, thus abandoning its traditional alliances.”

…Borrell recently said that "Europe is a beautiful garden." Judging by his current interview, Europe has become a real jungle.

P.S. During the resent Munich Security Conference Borrell on top of all proclaimed: “If the current global geopolitical tensions continue to evolve in the direction of "the West against the Rest", Europe’s future risks to be bleak. The era of Western dominance has indeed definitively ended. While this has been theoretically understood, we have not always drawn all practical conclusions from this new reality.”

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