Every story refers to another story which, in turn, refers to another story.
Almost all of those addressed by Josep Borrell, head of European diplomacy, in this interview point to the seventh circle of the
Divine Comedy
: that of the violent.
A war in the northern neighborhood has just turned two years old: Ukraine.
Another in the Middle East, in Gaza, is on the path to catastrophe.
There is a hurricane brewing in the west, with Donald Trump's possible victory in the United States.
And pressure on the southern shore, with a looming migration crisis to which the EU responds with an idea from Goebbels: “Fortress Europe”, with more than 1,200 kilometers of supposedly impenetrable walls.
On his way to 77 years of age, Borrell (La Pobla de Segur, Lleida) avoids the stuffy language of European orthodoxy, and with all these risks in the four cardinal points, he offers a speech that, paradoxically, sees the greatest danger behind closed doors: “The What scares me the most is the fear of Europeans.”
“It is a diffuse fear.
A horizon of mistrust that permeates everything, a vague feeling of fear.
With a war here next door and another very close.
With shocks in Africa and the suspicion that migrants may arrive in an uncontrolled manner.
With a defense that we subcontracted to the United States, a military umbrella that Trump may close, with cheap energy that will no longer come from Russia, with the certainty that we are losing markets in Asia.”
“We are an aging continent in a young world, hence this mixture of fear and uncertainty.
Against this there are always those who offer a clear, simple and false answer: the ultras, those hypermuscled leaders who tell us 'we are strong, they are going to find out,' he emphasizes;
“The European elections will be fundamental.”
Josep Borrell gestures during the interview.Moeh Aitar
Those elections will come in June.
But first, spring and the thaw will come: intelligence reports say that Russia has prepared well and that Ukraine is losing ground.
Every tragedy has its prophecy, but the victims only listen when there is no remedy.
Who's winning?
“Two years ago, Putin started a conflict that was supposed to last a week.
And Ukraine resists.
Russia came within eight kilometers of the kyiv Parliament, but was rebuffed.
I have seen there the charred rows of their tanks: they have not won the war, but they have not yet lost it.”
The war has caused a geopolitical awakening in the EU.
And yet there is a feeling that Europeans have done too little.
Europe has delayed decisions on its military support, with leaders dragging their feet because public opinion does not want more either.
“The EU's civil and military, economic and humanitarian aid exceeds that of the US,” she replies.
“And we have made a qualitative leap: at the beginning we promised helmets;
now we send F-16″.
“If we want Ukraine to resist, we have to give it more help and faster.”
“Europe has realized that it lives in a dangerous world, on its borders it has an aggressive State.
She must ask herself if she wants a Moscow puppet in kyiv, with Russian troops on the Polish border and with the risk of another invasion.”
“Russia is a non-democratic regime capable of eliminating opponents like Navalny, or eliminating its deserters on European soil.
Do we want it to reach the doors of Europe and control 36% of the world cereal market?
The Russians have shown resilience: they are used to hardship and are not asked if they would prefer anything other than a war economy.
We have to question what we can do.”
Are European divisions an obstacle?
"Only
Hungary, which is reaching security agreements with China, has distanced itself.
And yet, it pays its share of military aid to Ukraine and does not veto civilian aid.
We have demonstrated remarkable unity.
But it is logical that hesitations arise among 27 countries: if we had overcome them quickly, with massive and immediate aid, Ukraine would have fared better.
And us too.”
How do you win a war against a nuclear power that allocates 30% of its budget to defense?
“Russia is at war with all its consequences.
“Europe is not at war, but it does not fully understand what this war means for it.”
“Putin has mobilized all his resources, he has military support from Iran and North Korea, with economic support from China.
Hence my call to the Member States so that their support is consistent with the type of war we face, a mixture of those of the last century and the most modern technologies.
We have to do more, and quickly: in the coming months the war may be decided.
“To resist is to win.”
Portrait of the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, this Friday in Madrid.Moeh Aitar
On the other side of the Atlantic, Trump breaks the traditional scheme of NATO deterrence.
“It is outrageous that it invites Russia to attack those countries that do not comply with its conditions.
And it is outrageous that there are Republicans who compare the Ukrainian war with the immigration pressure from Mexico.
We have to assume responsibilities, increase defense capabilities and be prepared for any eventuality.
Trump has not won yet, just as Putin has not won yet, but Europe has to wake up.”
The succession of wars and upheavals turns the history of the third decade of the 21st century into a tragic Ravel's
Bolero
: Gaza is the other focus of attention, with 1.7 million Palestinians crushed against a wall.
What will Europe do in the event of a catastrophe?
“We are already in the midst of a catastrophe.
The United Nations has had to suspend humanitarian aid: Israel is using hunger as a weapon of war and that is contrary to international law.
We said it in Ukraine and that also applies now.
Gaza has been devastated: the use of force has been disproportionate.”
Spain and Ireland have demanded that the association agreements with Israel be suspended if it is demonstrated that rights are violated: "It is an extraordinary step forward and puts its finger on the sore spot."
But Europe is unable to drag the United States along in its demand for a ceasefire, perhaps because there is no common position in the EU either: “At the United Nations we voted divided, 18 in favor versus nine abstentions.”
The weight of history explains the position of Germany, even of the Germans at the head of the institutions: the president of the Commission, the German Ursula von der Leyen, made a visit to Tel Aviv in which she defended Israel's right to defend itself without putting any limit on it.
“The catastrophe in Gaza is not the result of an earthquake or a flood: it is the consequence of devastating military action.
Hamas is an idea, and an idea can only be fought with another idea: [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's plans for Gaza are unacceptable.
The seeds of hatred are being sown for several generations.
It is an open secret that the Israelis financed Hamas and played to divide the Palestinians.
Or that the position of the United States is taking its toll on [President Joe] Biden among the young Democratic electorate.
And that Von der Leyen's trip, with such an absolutely pro-Israeli position, without representing anyone but herself in a matter of international politics, has had a high geopolitical cost for Europe."
Borrell leaves a couple more messages for Von der Leyen.
One: “It announces that there will be a Defense Commissioner, but the Commission has no powers in defense matters, only in the defense industry.
“I would like to know what legal basis your proposal has.”
And two: “It is legal for her to want a second term, but not for her to personally attribute all the successes: there is a college of commissioners of different political colors who have made decisions, she should take greater care of neutrality when she is both president and candidate.
"He should focus on ensuring that his party, the European PP, does not fall into the temptation of allying with the ultras, thus abandoning its traditional alliances."
Borrell's hands, in a moment of the interview.Moeh Aitar
Follow all the international information on
and
X
, or in
our weekly newsletter
.
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits
Keep reading
I am already a subscriber
_