24 hours before leaving his position as vice-president and high representative of the EU, Josep Borrell recognizes that what worries him most is the situation in Gaza. And about to leave the office, he admits that he can be “frank”, while warning that he will be “more so” when he is outside. He nevertheless used his latest public event to criticize the community club’s position on foreign policy and even questioned whether support for Ukraine would be maintained if Donald Trump withdrew American aid. But above all, he took the opportunity to maintain warnings about the danger posed by the far-right Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel.
“Franco’s Spain is not the same as Felipe’s, nor Netanyahu’s Israel is the same as Shimon Peres’,” Borrell said in his final public event at a symposium by the Brussels Institute of Geopolitics. It’s a similar message to the one he sent two weeks ago to the European Parliament, but he used the image of the dictator to refer to Donald Trump’s victory. What Borrell means is to differentiate between governments, countries and societies.
In the case of Israel, Borrell says it is “colonized from within by extremism and violent people,” as he said before participating in the Global Alliance for the Implementation of both States: “The colonization of the minds of the people is the most dangerous thing facing Israeli society, because it undermines the foundations of its democracy.
He also takes the opportunity to criticize the EU’s equidistance with Netanyahu: “Stop saying that international law must be respected, say whether it is respected or not.” Borrell’s latest attempt was for foreign ministers to answer this question through a report in which he presented all the violations of human rights and international legality perpetrated by Israel on the Palestinian population. And, in conclusion, he proposes to act. As? Suspend political dialogue with this country, a decision which, in practice, would be fundamentally symbolic. Despite this, he did not get the support of ministers to make it happen.
According to him, denying that Israel is not respecting its obligations in terms of international legality amounts to reducing the “credibility” of the EU. A few hours earlier, he had raised his voice against Netanyahu, against whom he had recalled an international arrest warrant.
No response on aid to Ukraine
“Stop hiding behind anti-Semitism. This has nothing to do with anti-Semitism. It is about seeking justice on the world stage. And until the last minute of my mandate, I will repeat the same thing: it is in Europe’s honor to fully and respectfully implement the decision of the International Criminal Court. Otherwise, the future will not be very good for justice,” he said.
“How is it possible that we do not see that the Netanyahu government is trampling on international humanitarian law, that it is systematically violating international humanitarian law? “, he asked. Borrell has been one of the most critical voices toward Israel over the Gaza massacre, an issue that his successor, liberal Kaja Kallas, leaves in the background.
But he did not just denounce the EU’s position towards Netanyahu. During a conference organized by the Brussels Institute of Geopolitics, he also wondered whether the 27 were reconsidering certain of their policies, such as the proposal to fight against deforestation.
And it also left black and white Ukraine’s fear that aid intended to deal with the Russian attack would be stopped. “I don’t think anyone has the answer,” he said of the Ukrainians’ question about the amount of their support.
