Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper) The European Union High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell warned on Monday that the EU has come to rely on China and Russia for prosperity, and on the United States for security, stressing that the Union will have to take on more responsibility in both areas in the future.
Speaking at the opening of the EU Ambassadors’ Conference, Borrell gave an uncharacteristically honest and direct speech for a diplomat, stressing that the world we are living in at this time is a world of “radical uncertainty”.
“The speed and scope of change is exceptional,” said Borrell. “We should not try to deny it. We should not try to resist it. It would be a futile effort. We have to accept it and to adapt [to] it, prioritising flexibility and resilience. But uncertainty is the rule. Events that one could imagine that they will never happen, they are happening one after the other.”
The top EU diplomat emphasised his belief that the Europeans are currently suffering from the consequences of a process that took place for many years, in which the Union “decoupled the sources of our prosperity from the sources of our security”.
Borrell elaborated that the EU’s prosperity has for a long time now been based on cheap energy coming from Russia, and on the access to the Chinese market, which offered opportunities for exports and imports, for technological transfers, for investments and cheap goods.
“Clearly, today, we have to find new ways for energy from inside the European Union, as much as we can, because we should not change one dependency for another,” said Borrell, adding that the “best energy is the one that you produce at home”.
The HR also stressed that not many people are aware of the fact that China and Russia no longer being what they were when it comes to EU economic development will require a significant restructuring of the bloc’s economy.
“The access to China is becoming more and more difficult,” said Borrell. “The adjustment will be tough, and this will create political problems.”
Borrell also stressed that Europe had delegated its security to the US, and hinted that this relationship can also no longer be taken for granted. “ While the cooperation with the Biden Administration is excellent, and the transatlantic relationship has never been as good as it is today (…) who knows what will happen two years from now, or even in November?”, said Borrell, referring to the US midterm elections next month.
“What would have happened if instead of Biden, it would have been Trump or someone in the White House? What would have been the answer of the United States to the war in Ukraine? What would have been our answer in a different situation,” asked Borrell.
The answer to both issues – ending the dependency on Russia and China for economy and on the US for security – lies with the EU having to shoulder more of its responsibilities on its own, contended Borrell. “You – the United States – take care of our security. You – China and Russia – provided the basis of our prosperity. This is a world that is no longer there,” said Borrell.
