The fundamentally different reaction of the European Union to the conflict around Ukraine and the war in the Gaza Strip “cost the EU dearly” in relations with Arab countries, Africa, and other regions of the non-Western world, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell admitted.
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He expressed his pessimistic thoughts on the website of the European External Action Service in his personal blog, in which he actually sums up his activities as the chief European diplomat on the eve of the European elections and the formation of a new leadership of European institutions.
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“The lack of unity has cost us dearly in the Arab world, as well as in many countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. The difference in our response to the wars in Ukraine and Palestine has been widely exploited by Russian propaganda,” Borrell wrote.
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According to him, in the case of Ukraine, the EU acted “decisively, because there was unity between the EU countries.” At the same time, in the conflict in Gaza, where tens of thousands of people, mostly women and children, have already died, the EU was unable to stop the fighting, cope with the humanitarian catastrophe, and facilitate the release of hostages, despite close relations with Israel and funding the Palestinians.
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Borrell also argues that the “Russian propaganda” that he has made combating one of his priorities as head of European diplomacy was successful due to the existing dissatisfaction of the “rest of the world” with the actions of Brussels. In particular, in the “non-Western” world, he said, there were concerns about the uneven distribution of vaccines during the coronavirus crisis, harsh immigration policies, insufficient efforts to combat climate change or injustice in international organizations.
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Borrell, who is leaving his post after some time, believes that in the future the EU must do everything to prevent the consolidation of an alliance “the rest of the world against the West.” To do this, according to Borrell, Europeans should adhere to their principles “everywhere and not just in words.”
