The bloc’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, left a meeting in Luxembourg in late October after outlining the EU countries’ position on the Israel-Hamas war. However, he misrepresented the general view, Politico reported.
Borrell stated that there was a “basic consensus” among ministers on the need for a humanitarian pause in the fighting. However, it took four more days of talks and a five-hour closed-door meeting for EU leaders to reach unanimity on the wording.
While Spain pushed for a complete ceasefire, such countries as Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic sought to avoid any wording that might infringe on Israel’s right to self-defence.
Stefano Sannino, the secretary-general of the European External Action Service (EEAS), had to explain to member states why Borrel declared there was a consensus among EU countries, when in fact there was not. One EU diplomat called Sannino’s intervention “a way to apologise” for Borrell’s remarks, while two other diplomats took it as an explanation rather than a full apology.
“Everyone knew this was not Sannino’s fault, he’s being criticised because of Borrell’s comments.”
Just a day after EU leaders agreed on the need for “humanitarian corridors and pauses” at the European Council summit, Borrell criticised the situation in Gaza on social media, claiming it was ” against international humanitarian law” and calling for a “pause of hostilities” to allow humanitarian access.
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, tagging Borrel in his tweet, emphasised that “it is imperative to stick to the positions” of the European Council.
I felt obliged to publicly recall the jointly developed EU position.
Luigi Scazzieri of the Centre for European Reform stated that Borrell’s going beyond what EU countries had agreed contributed to the perception that the bloc was split on the conflict.
The EU has struggled to speak with one voice on the Middle East conflict, but European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has been accused of taking a pro-Israeli stance, while Borrell is seen as taking a more pro-Palestinian view.
Borrell criticised von der Leyen for not fully following the decisions of the EU member states responsible for the bloc’s foreign policy on the Middle East.
“Foreign policy is not decided by the Commission but by “the high-level political decision of the European Union Council, chaired by President [Charles] Michel and by the Foreign Affairs Council ministers chaired by me.”
In addition to him, some 800 EU employees wrote a letter protesting that von der Leyen was showing unjustifiable bias towards Israel in the conflict.
Some EU officials note that Borrell has already made “gaffes” more than once. For instance, when he announced at the beginning of the war in Ukraine that “we are going to supply … even fighter jets” to Kyiv, which was not the case at the time.
It’s Borrell. It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last time.
Borrell had a similar reputation in Spanish politics, where he was known for voicing his own opinions even when they were far from diplomatic. In 2019, for example, there were complaints from Moscow after he publicly labelled Russia “our old enemy.”
However, Borrell’s supporters argue that he is simply announcing decisions in advance, such as the one on fighters for Ukraine, which are agreed upon at a later stage.
Scazzieri of the Centre for European Reform noted that Borrell’s remarks helped signal to the Middle East that some Europeans were willing to be more decisive in holding Israel accountable.
“If the EU as a whole had Borrell’s position, it would be significantly easier for it to fight the accusation of double standards and hypocrisy.”
Steven Van Hecke, a professor in European politics at the Catholic University of Leuven, stated that in this conflict, “von der Leyen has reacted as a German politician, not as the president of the European Commission.”
After all the criticism, this has been a way for Borrell to show that he’s not afraid of playing his role.
