En matière de politique étrangère européenne, nous sommes en permanence confrontés à des conflits à nos frontières, à une compétition croissante entre puissances, à la remise en cause du système multilatéral et de nos valeurs, à des différends sur le commerce et sur qui doit fixer les règles en matière de technologies ou encore aux effets globaux du changement climatique, pour ne citer que quelques-uns des sujets que nous devons traiter chaque jour.
Le poste de haut représentant de l'UE pour les affaires étrangères et la politique de sécurité et de vice-président de la Commission (HR/VP) ouvre une fenêtre sur le monde. Comme tout observateur, je suis influencé par ma propre perspective. Je ne suis pas d'accord avec le philosophe espagnol du XIXe siècle, Ramon de Campoamor, qui affirmait dans un célèbre poème que rien n'est vrai ou faux et que tout dépend de "la couleur de vos lunettes". Certaines choses sont à coup sûr vraies et d'autres fausses, mais nous sommes confrontés en effet à des positions différentes sur presque tous les sujets. Nous sommes engagés dans une "bataille de récits" permanente sur les questions qui déterminent notre avenir. Nous devons comprendre ces positions si nous voulons trouver des terrains d'entente. En particulier, des terrains d'entente entre Européens, ce qui est la première tâche d’un HR/VP.
Avec ce blog, j'entends prendre du recul et contribuer à la construction d'une culture stratégique européenne commune. Les responsabilités de HR/VP ne me permettent pas toujours de m'exprimer aussi clairement que je le souhaiterais. Je vais néanmoins essayer de présenter ici mon point de vue, celui d'un Européen convaincu, sur les principaux enjeux pour l'Europe et son rôle dans le monde. Et je vous remercie d'accorder un peu de votre temps et de votre attention à ces réflexions. J'espère que ce blog contribuera à une meilleure compréhension des questions qui nous concernent.
En plus des articles de mon blog, vous trouverez également ici un répertoire de mes interviews, discours, articles et vidéos.
Articles de blog
Articles d'opinion
Interviews
Discours
Vidéos et Vlogs
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
UNE EUROPE PLUS FORTE DANS LE MONDE