In a candid revelation, Josep Borrell, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, acknowledged that the EU’s contrasting responses to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the war in Gaza have been costly for the Union’s relations with Arab and African nations, as well as other regions around the world.
Expressing his thoughts in a personal blog post on the European External Action Service website, Borrell reflected on his tenure as Europe’s chief diplomat ahead of the upcoming European elections and the establishment of new leadership for the EU institutions.
“This is about “de-risking”, not “decoupling”. The European Union has always been open to trade and investment and wants to remain so. By de-risking we mean, for example, to strengthen trade and investment links with Latin America or Africa in order to diversify our supply chains.”
According to Borrell, the EU acted decisively in Ukraine due to unity among EU member states.
However, in the Gaza conflict, where tens of thousands of people, mostly women and children, have already perished, the EU failed to halt the fighting, address the humanitarian disaster, or facilitate the release of hostages, despite close relations with Israel and funding to the Palestinians.
Borrell cited “Russian propaganda,” which he said has been successful due to the current global dissatisfaction with Brussels’ actions.
“Our division has cost us dearly in the Arab world but also in a great number of countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. The difference in our responses to wars in Ukraine and Palestine has been used extensively by Russian propaganda.”
He added that in the “non-Western” world, there are concerns about the uneven distribution of vaccines during the coronavirus crisis, harsh immigration policies, insufficient efforts to combat climate change, and injustices in international organizations.
