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When it comes to the EU's top diplomat, members of the European Parliament are notoriously undiplomatic.
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borell has been a "total failure" since the Hamas terror attack in Israel, says EU parliamentarian Dennis Radtke. He "either didn't understand his job" or was "simply unsuited to it." He is not the only one with this opinion.
The Middle East is burning, Borrell flies to China
The leader of the conservatives in the EU Parliament, CSU Deputy Manfred Weber, even said it to Borrell's face on Wednesday during his speech to the Strasbourg plenary: "I was told that you have never traveled to Israel in the last four years to hold talks there and try to start a peace process."
Weber: "At a time when our neighborhood is on fire and we know the geopolitical importance of the region, (US Secretary of State) Blinken is traveling to Egypt and Israel, and our High Representative is traveling to China at such a time .
From there, Borrell also complained against his boss, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, because she flew to Israel with EU Council President Roberta Metsola to show solidarity with the traumatized country. The EU's foreign policy is not her business, but his, Borrell complained to von der Leyen, who has just flown to Washington to talk to US President Joe Biden about the situation in Israel.
Completely divided on EU policy on Israel (from left): Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Council President Charles Michel and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell
Applause with a long history
The Spaniard, who spends a significant part of his working time in the Spanish-speaking world (eg Argentina, Cuba), took the floor himself in Strasbourg. He boasted of his phone calls with Iran and his contacts with the Gulf states, spoke of the need for a two-state solution, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the Brazilian resolution at the UN Security Council. At the end, his S&D (Socialists and Democrats) group applauded, but almost no one else did.
A lot of people obviously don't feel represented by Borrell.
Not least the European People's Party (Conservatives), which has already clearly rejected Borrell's criticism of Ursula von der Leyen's trip.
Daniel Caspary, leader of the CDU/CSU group, responded to Borrell's speech: "Anyone who criticizes Israel must at least at the same time call on the Hamas terrorists to release the hostages immediately and finally stop the rocket attacks on civilians. population in Israel to stop."
"Perceived as someone who understands Hamas"
FDP MP Moritz Körner is even clearer. He says to BILD: "Borrell exaggerates yes-but so much that he is perceived by many MPs as an understanding of Hamas."
What upsets him the most: Pseudo-neutrality, as if the terrorist attack never happened. "Anyone who insists on neutrality right after 1,300 innocent Israelis were massacred, raped, beheaded, burned and kidnapped is actually taking a biased position," says Körner. He suspects that the reason is the lack of empathy for the victims: "If the Basque terrorist organization ETA massacred 1,300 Spaniards in Madrid tomorrow, the Spaniard Borrell would probably not insist on the neutrality of the EU leadership."
Finding Borrell's backer isn't easy these days. He was recently praised by, of all people, his Spanish compatriot Manuel Pineda, a radical leftist who came to parliament wearing a Palestinian scarf and savagely insulted Israel.
Word from diplomatic circles is that Borrell has disqualified himself from the government of Israel. "Nobody in Israel wants to talk to him. Then it is difficult to make foreign policy", says a senior official for BILD.
In any case, Borrell is not one to show his ideas or initiatives to develop things for the better. In the circle of foreign ministers and heads of government, he is usually tired only with long "goom and doom" speeches about the world situation, that is, with gloomy predictions that everything will get worse.
Borrell has survived all political issues
Amazing: Unlike in 2021, when Borrell embarrassed the EU with an amateur appearance at Russia's Foreign Ministry, there have been NO calls for his resignation so far. The socialist resolved the situation at that time, as he had survived all scandals and scandals in his political career.
Examples: In 2018, the Spanish securities regulator (CNMV) fined him €30,000 for insider trading. And he once had to vacate the post of morning director as president of the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence because he kept quiet about his position on the supervisory board at the energy company Abengoa, which was worth €300,000 a year.
It recently emerged that Borrell not only receives a monthly salary of over €20,000, but also a pension from the European Parliament's hopelessly over-debt pension fund. Many of his critics hope that from June 2024 (the European elections) only the (abundant) pension money will flow. / BILD
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