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Nella politica estera europea, siamo costantemente confrontati con i conflitti nel nostro vicinato, con la crescente concorrenza tra le potenze rivali, con le sfide al sistema multilaterale e ai nostri valori, con le controversie sui termini del commercio e su chi stabilisce le regole sulle tecnologie, e con gli effetti globali del cambiamento climatico - per citare solo alcune delle questioni che affrontiamo ogni giorno.

La carica di Alto Rappresentante dell'UE per gli Affari Esteri e la Politica di Sicurezza / Vicepresidente della Commissione (AR/VP) offre una finestra aperta sul mondo. Come ogni osservatore, sono influenzato dalla mia prospettiva. Non sono d'accordo con il relativismo del filosofo spagnolo del XIX secolo de Campoamor che afferma in una famosa poesia che nulla è vero o falso e che tutto dipende "dal colore dei vostri occhiali". Alcune cose sono sicuramente vere e altre false, ma dobbiamo affrontare posizioni diverse su quasi tutti gli argomenti. Viviamo in un permanente " scontro di narrazioni" sui temi che determinano il nostro futuro. Dobbiamo capire queste diverse posizioni se vogliamo cercare un terreno comune. In particolare un terreno comune tra gli europei, che è il dovere dell'Alto Rappresentante/Vicepresidente.

Con questo blog, intendo fare un passo indietro e contribuire a costruire una comune cultura strategica europea. Le responsabilità dell'AR/VP non sempre mi permettono di esprimermi con la chiarezza che vorrei. Ma cercherò di presentare qui le mie opinioni personali, guardando attraverso gli occhiali di un europeo convinto, sulle principali questioni in gioco per l'Europa e il suo ruolo globale. Grazie per aver dedicato a queste riflessioni il vostro tempo e la vostra attenzione. Spero che questo blog possa contribuire a creare una migliore comprensione dei temi su cui siamo impegnati.

Oltre ai miei post sul blog, qui troverete anche un archivio di interviste, discorsi, opinioni e video.

Blog

Op-ed

Interviste

Discorsi

Video & Vlog

Publications

EUROPE IN THE ‘ARC OF FIRE’: EU foreign policy in 2024

2024 has confirmed how much Europe is in danger.

From Ukraine to the Middle East, via South Caucasus, the Horn of Africa or the Sahel, conflicts and crises have been multiplying on our doorstep. Not forgetting the rising tensions in the South China Sea. All of this at a time where the US commitment to European security is becoming much more uncertain.

We have continued to support Ukraine, but we have not managed to provide enough resources to stop Russia’s constant attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructures and its advance into Donetsk.
In the Middle East, our call and the call of the international community for a ceasefire, the release of hostages and the respect of international humanitarian law has not been heard and the conflict has spread further in the region.

In this very dangerous geopolitical context, we urgently need to boost our defence capabilities and our defence industry.

This book brings together blog posts, op-eds and speeches by HR/VP Josep Borrell Fontelles addressing the most pressing issues for EU’s foreign and security policy during the year 2024.

Download the PDF here

 

EUROPE BETWEEN TWO WARS. EU FOREIGN POLICY IN 2023

2023 was mainly dominated by the two wars raging in the EU's neighbourhood.

Ukraine managed to liberate half of the territory occupied by Russia in 2022 and unblock the Black Sea. However, Russia continued to attack and destroy the country. Ukraine must prevail because the core principles of the United Nations Charter and EU’s very security are at stake. That is why the EU stepped up its support.

On 7 October, the terrorist attack by Hamas has triggered a new war in Gaza, with serious risks of spill over in the region. The EU has called on and acted for putting an end to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, free the hostages and implement rapidly the two-state solution, the only way to bring a just and lasting peace to the region.

Many other topics were also on EU’s agenda in 2023: the EU-China relations, the coups in the Sahel, the EU-Latin America summit, European defence, multilateralism…

This book brings together blog posts, op-eds and speeches by HR/VP Josep Borrell Fontelles, addressing the most pressing issues for EU’s foreign and security policy during the year 2023.

Download the PDF file here

 

THE YEAR THAT WAR RETURNED TO EUROPE. EU FOREIGN POLICY IN 2022

2022 has been the year of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine. The Russian aggression and its global consequences raise many questions for EU foreign and security policy.

How did the EU react, maintaining its unity and breaking many taboos? Are the sanctions against Russia working? How did the EU respond to the weaponisation of energy by Russia? How did the EU address the consequences of Russia’s aggression on the availability of food and fertilizers globally? What conclusions should the EU draw from this war for European security and defence? How can the EU, in this new geopolitical context, maintain international law and revitalise the multilateral framework to ensure cooperation on global issues like climate change? And how can the EU reinforce its engagement with Africa, the Indo-Pacific and Latin America, what some now call the “Global South”?

In this book, which brings together a collection of blog posts, op-eds and speeches, HR/VP Josep Borrell Fontelles addresses these questions and other issues that dominated EU foreign and security policy in 2022.

Download the PDF & EPub files here

 

STAYING ON COURSE IN TROUBLED WATERS. EU FOREIGN POLICY IN 2021

The year 2021 was dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic and marked by various geopolitical crises. In this book, which contains a collection of articles, blog posts, opeds and speeches, HR/VP Josep Borrell addresses the main questions facing the EU's foreign and security policy. How can the EU become a more credible global security actor and deal with a more competitive strategic environment? How should the EU act in the face of ‘new empires‘ that try to destabilise our neighbourhood? And in what concrete ways can we reinforce the transatlantic partnership and strengthen our engagement with Africa, the Indo-Pacifc and Latin America? What can the EU do to revitalise multilateralism and help build global rules that are ft for purpose in the 21st century? What policies are needed to tackle climate change and increase the EU’s strategic autonomy?

Download the PDF & EPub files here

 

EUROPEAN FOREIGN POLICY IN TIMES OF COVID-19

The book tells the story of the main events of 2020 and how the EU has responded. It traces the main stages of the pandemic and the EU’s actions: from the ‘battle of narratives’ and the work on repatriation, to the development of ‘Team Europe’ and the deal on the recovery fund.

Download the PDF and EPub files here

HR/VP JOSEP BORRELL

A STRONGER EUROPE IN THE WORLD