By Shimon Stein
Many Israelis, particularly officials in the Foreign Ministry, other government offices and ministers responsible for relations with the European Union in recent years, probably breathed a sigh of relief at the conclusion of the five-year term of the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell (often mistakenly called the “EU foreign minister”).
Prior to assuming this role, Borrell served as Spain's Foreign Minister.
Since foreign policy remains exclusively under the authority of the EU member states, the European Union itself does not have a unified foreign policy.
The role of the High Representative is to bridge the gaps between member states' positions to achieve consensus, a difficult task.
However, the lack of consensus did not prevent Borrell from sharing his personal views, which are not binding on the European Commission or its member states.
Middle East issues, particularly the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, are among the most contentious issues for EU member states, making it difficult to reach a consensual position.
Deeply committed to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Borrell was unwilling to accept this status quo.
He worked tirelessly to reach consensus and, when this failed to be achieved, often issued statements in his own name, proposed initiatives (such as calling on EU foreign ministers to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement over Israel's handling of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza) and was active on regional and international fronts (most recently, he took an active role in establishing the Global Partnership for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution).
Despite harsh criticism (including labels of him as an anti-Semite), it is important to note that Borrell’s positions on key issues related to the conflict (such as settlements, settler violence against Palestinians, the two-state solution, Israel’s handling of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and its military conduct there) enjoy broad support from most EU member states.
In conclusion, Borrell's term will be remembered as a low point in relations between Israel and the European Union.
Her successor, Estonian Kaja Kallas, will now take over.
While the issues mentioned above and other Middle East topics will continue to accompany her mandate, the Middle East does not have the same personal significance for her as it does for Borrell.
His main focus is likely to be on the war in Ukraine and efforts to maintain EU unity in light of internal divisions and uncertainty surrounding President Trump's policies.
Kallas will, however, have to address Middle East issues, although his style and level of activism are expected to differ significantly from Borrell's approach.
Source: INSS – The Institute for National Security Studies
Straight to the ASYLUM, miserable good-for-nothing, have a nice trip BORREGO…..SORRY BORREL
Even if on paper the European Union does not have a binding unified foreign and security policy, there must at least be red lines that cannot be crossed, apart from the fact that most countries are already part of NATO, which requires unity in military and security matters, as is the case with jihadist terrorism. The European Union itself also has a different military organisation to NATO, and the same probably happens with anti-terrorist security and with the secret services, that is to say, all countries follow a unified policy against jihadism, which is practically the only terrorism that exists right now in Europe, regardless of what the numerous mafias that swarm around Europe do and the incidents of the Russian secret services.
In politics, for example, Poland, with its ultra-nationalist governments, was warned on numerous occasions years ago that it would be expelled from the European Union if it continued with its ultra-nationalist or anti-democratic policies, contrary to the European spirit, and Austria was warned in the same way, with the entry into the government of the ultra-right Jorg Haider, the pro-Nazi leader who was apparently paid by Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein to speak well of them in Europe from his privileged position, or later died in a car accident when leaving a well-known gay pub. Later, his gay boyfriend, his lieutenant in the party, and his official wife accused Israel of having murdered him, as did many European ultra-rightists or neo-Nazis. Hungary has also been warned for its dalliances with Russia. Of course, now that the ultra-right is much more on the rise, who knows what the immediate future will bring.
The Spanish socialist party to which Borrell belongs, the PSOE, which currently governs Spain in coalition with the communists, has nothing, not one bit, of revolutionary or communist or anything at all, it is a mainstream party that scrupulously complies with all the European policies, those of NATO and the other international organisations to which Spain belongs. Another thing is what the Spanish right and far right say or invent, for example, they have created a custom of booing socialists during military parades of the Spanish army, mostly with fascist tendencies, or at least their relatives. In general, the right and the extreme right have created a constant climate of hostility against the PSOE, and now they may be even worse off with the excuse of the coalition with communists or with political agreements with separatist parties, nothing new since the current democratic period began in Spain, if anything they have now been joined by the new extreme right party Vox and some new characters who have appeared thanks to social networks, very mediocre Spaniards who are fond of spreading hoaxes and conspiracies that a large part of Spaniards swallow without complaint.
We completed the INSS…a Spanish donkey in murky waters and borage…he got muddy and almost drowned…after five years…he came out with his tail and ears drooping and muttering (why the hell did I accept the chair…)….
BLESSED ISRAEL 🌹🌹🌹❤️❤️❤️NOT ONLY FOR ISRAEL MADE A RELIEF ALSO FOR THE IRANIAN PEOPLE AGAINST TERRORIST AYATOLLAS, THIS BORREL HAS BLOOD STAINED 🩸🩸🩸 SUCH FOR THE LEGITIMATE STATE OF ISRAEL AND ALSO FOR 85 MILLION OF THE IRANIAN PEOPLE, YES SO IT IS IN ALL THE STREETS OF IRAN IT IS WRITTEN DEAD TO JOSEP BORREL OR TRAITOR BORREL. ONE LESS ANTI-SEMIST. LONG LIVE ISRAEL UNTIL ETERNITY ❤️❤️❤️🌹🌹🌹
BLESSED ISRAEL 🌹🌹🌹❤️❤️❤️ BORREL HOW HE HAS DECEIVED EVEN HIS COLLEAGUES IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND EVEN ISRAEL AND THE IRANIAN PEOPLE ANTI TERRORIST AYATOLLAHAS, IF BORREL WOULD PUT THE REVOLUTIONARY GUARDIANS OF THE TERRORIST AYATOLLAHAS ON THE TERRORISM LIST, PERHAPS THE MASSACRE OF OCTOBER 7 IN ISRAEL WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED. AND HE WOULD HAVE PREVENTED THE DEATH OF MILLIONS OF IRANIAN YOUNG PEOPLE CONDEMNED TO DEATH, JEWS, BAHAYIS, AND
OTHERS HAD IN IRAN KIDNAPPED BY TERRORIST AYATOLLAHAS, THIS MR. BORREL HAS NO HUMAN SENSE, HE HAS NO MORALS, HE HAS NO BLOOD 🩸🩸🩸 IN HIS VEINS, HE DOES HAVE BLOOD 🩸🩸🩸 IN HIS VEINS BUT GREEN (DOLLAR) AND IF HE CLOSED THE EMBASSIES OF THE TERRORIST AYATOLLAHAS IN THE EU, THERE WERE NOT SO MANY HITMEN WITH DIPLOMATIC PASSPORTS WHAT HITMEN OF THE TERRORIST AYATOLLAHAS IN THE EU WHO KILLED THOUSANDS OF THE IRANIAN OPPOSITION HERE IN THE EU OR TRYING TO KILL JEWISH CITIZENS, OR BURN THE SYNAGOGUES. MR, BORREL, IF I WERE YOU, I WOULD GO TO ANOTHER WORLD 🌎🌍!!! LONG LIVE ISRAEL AND THE IRANIAN PEOPLE, ANTI TERRORIST AYATOLLAS UNTIL VICTORY FOR ISRAEL, FREEDOM, PEACE, AND LOVE FOR BOTH PEOPLES, ISRAEL AND THE IRANIAN PEOPLE ❤️❤️❤️🌹🌹🌹 AMEN.
FOR HIM IN MEMORY OF THE LOVED ONES OF THE OCTOBER 7 MASSACRE WHAT HAS HAPPENED ONE YEAR AND 3 MONTHS, TODAY IN MEMORIES OF THE OCTOBER 7 MASSACRE A YOUNG BOY HAS GONE WITH COURAGE AND VALENTINE TO FREEDOM SQUARE IN THE CENTER OF THE CAPITAL OF IRAN (TEHRAN) AND HAS RAISED THE NOBLE ISRAELI FLAG WITHOUT FEAR YOU CAN SEE ON SOCIAL NETWORKS AND WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE BLESSED YOUNG MAN THIS YOUNG IRANIAN ANTI TERRORIST AYATOLLAHAS, THE WORLD STILL DOES NOT KNOW THAT BEFORE THE TERRORIST AYATOLLAHAS THERE WAS A HUGE LINK BETWEEN JEWS AND THE IRANIAN PEOPLE, IN EVERY WAY, YOU HAVE TO SEE THE HISTORY OF BEFORE 1978, WHAT THERE WAS, THERE IS A BOOK THAT WAS WRITTEN BY THE CHILDREN OF TEHRAN. LONG LIVE ISRAEL UNTIL ETERNITY ❤️ PEACE🌹🌹🌹
DEAR AURORA OF ISRAEL, PLEASE DELETE MY COMMENTS ABOUT JOSEPH. THANK YOU.
Goodbye Borrell, Guterres is missing