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| Crude Comments From Europe’s Top Diplomat Point to Bigger Problems | Crude Comments From Europe’s Top Diplomat Point to Bigger Problems |
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| BRUSSELS — European efforts to rally global support for Ukraine are being met with resistance, in part because of the long shadow of colonialism and the impact it still has in large parts of Africa and Asia. | BRUSSELS — European efforts to rally global support for Ukraine are being met with resistance, in part because of the long shadow of colonialism and the impact it still has in large parts of Africa and Asia. |
| The top European Union diplomat calling the world “a jungle” and Europe “a garden” at risk of being overrun isn’t helping. | |
| In a speech to aspiring diplomats on Thursday, Josep Borrell Fontelles, a septuagenarian Spanish Socialist who is the bloc’s most senior diplomat, used an extended metaphor premised on this very idea. | In a speech to aspiring diplomats on Thursday, Josep Borrell Fontelles, a septuagenarian Spanish Socialist who is the bloc’s most senior diplomat, used an extended metaphor premised on this very idea. |
| “Yes, Europe is a garden.” Mr. Borrell told aspiring European diplomats in the Belgian city of Bruges. “We have built a garden. Everything works. It is the best combination of political freedom, economic prosperity and social cohesion that the humankind has been able to build — the three things together.” | “Yes, Europe is a garden.” Mr. Borrell told aspiring European diplomats in the Belgian city of Bruges. “We have built a garden. Everything works. It is the best combination of political freedom, economic prosperity and social cohesion that the humankind has been able to build — the three things together.” |
| “Most of the rest of the world is a jungle, and the jungle could invade the garden,” he added, calling the young European diplomats “gardeners” who “have to go to the jungle. Europeans have to be much more engaged with the rest of the world. Otherwise, the rest of the world will invade us, by different ways and means.” | “Most of the rest of the world is a jungle, and the jungle could invade the garden,” he added, calling the young European diplomats “gardeners” who “have to go to the jungle. Europeans have to be much more engaged with the rest of the world. Otherwise, the rest of the world will invade us, by different ways and means.” |
| The comments were scripted, and it wasn’t the first time he made them. He had employed the jungle metaphor in more limited remarks in August. | The comments were scripted, and it wasn’t the first time he made them. He had employed the jungle metaphor in more limited remarks in August. |
| On Monday Mr. Borrell stood by his comments, insisting that he had been misunderstood. | On Monday Mr. Borrell stood by his comments, insisting that he had been misunderstood. |
| He said that Europe was a privileged place to live and that his message to the aspiring diplomats was to cultivate relationships outside it, because it cannot be “an island in the world away from what was going on elsewhere.” | He said that Europe was a privileged place to live and that his message to the aspiring diplomats was to cultivate relationships outside it, because it cannot be “an island in the world away from what was going on elsewhere.” |
| “I do not understand the interpretation that has been given to what I said, I certainly do not share the allegation that it is somehow imperialist, white supremacist or a retrograde message,” Mr. Borrell told reporters in Luxembourg on Monday. | “I do not understand the interpretation that has been given to what I said, I certainly do not share the allegation that it is somehow imperialist, white supremacist or a retrograde message,” Mr. Borrell told reporters in Luxembourg on Monday. |
| Thursday’s speech circulated broadly on social media, a gift to Europe’s detractors. Among the first to seize on it was the Kremlin’s spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova. | Thursday’s speech circulated broadly on social media, a gift to Europe’s detractors. Among the first to seize on it was the Kremlin’s spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova. |
| “To continue the analogy, the European gardener is in a vegetative state,” she quipped on Telegram. “And now seriously. The ‘garden’ was built by Europe due to the barbaric attitude to the plundering of the ‘jungle.’ Borrell could not say it better: the most prosperous system created in Europe was nourished by its roots from the colonies, which it ruthlessly oppressed,” she added. | “To continue the analogy, the European gardener is in a vegetative state,” she quipped on Telegram. “And now seriously. The ‘garden’ was built by Europe due to the barbaric attitude to the plundering of the ‘jungle.’ Borrell could not say it better: the most prosperous system created in Europe was nourished by its roots from the colonies, which it ruthlessly oppressed,” she added. |
| In Africa and beyond, government officials and citizens vented on social media. In regions where the European Union is clashing with local governments, the comments were fodder for a broader repudiation of Western meddling. | In Africa and beyond, government officials and citizens vented on social media. In regions where the European Union is clashing with local governments, the comments were fodder for a broader repudiation of Western meddling. |
| Ethiopian and Eritrean officials, whose governments are allied in fighting a brutal war against an insurgency in the Tigray region, jumped on the comments. | Ethiopian and Eritrean officials, whose governments are allied in fighting a brutal war against an insurgency in the Tigray region, jumped on the comments. |
| “Is Africa still a jungle only meant to furnish someone else’s garden as it has painfully been?” quipped Redwan Hussein, a senior adviser to the Ethiopian prime minister, in a tweet. | “Is Africa still a jungle only meant to furnish someone else’s garden as it has painfully been?” quipped Redwan Hussein, a senior adviser to the Ethiopian prime minister, in a tweet. |
| But Mr. Borrell’s garden/jungle talk also shocked traditional European allies who quickly denounced it. | But Mr. Borrell’s garden/jungle talk also shocked traditional European allies who quickly denounced it. |
| “What a terrible analogy Mr. Borrell has made,” said Bob Rae, Canada’s United Nations ambassador, in a tweet on Sunday. “Surely history and our own lived experience teaches us that no part of the world is free from violence,” he added. | “What a terrible analogy Mr. Borrell has made,” said Bob Rae, Canada’s United Nations ambassador, in a tweet on Sunday. “Surely history and our own lived experience teaches us that no part of the world is free from violence,” he added. |
| A spokeswoman for Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, who is basically his boss, said that she retained confidence in him and did not offer any corrections to the garden metaphor. | A spokeswoman for Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, who is basically his boss, said that she retained confidence in him and did not offer any corrections to the garden metaphor. |
| Still, many politicians and experts within the bloc were outraged. | Still, many politicians and experts within the bloc were outraged. |
| “This abhorrent, colonial language is unacceptable from any representative of our union, least of all our highest-ranking diplomat,” said Alice Bah Kuhnke, a prominent Swedish member of the European Parliament with the Green Party. | “This abhorrent, colonial language is unacceptable from any representative of our union, least of all our highest-ranking diplomat,” said Alice Bah Kuhnke, a prominent Swedish member of the European Parliament with the Green Party. |
| “It’s not the first time that Borrell’s behavior reflects poorly on the E.U.,” she added, referring to previous instances where Mr. Borrell’s comments drew ire for being clumsy, inflammatory or crude. “Once again, this raises questions about whether he is suitable to continue as high representative.” | “It’s not the first time that Borrell’s behavior reflects poorly on the E.U.,” she added, referring to previous instances where Mr. Borrell’s comments drew ire for being clumsy, inflammatory or crude. “Once again, this raises questions about whether he is suitable to continue as high representative.” |
| Experts also said that alienating nations in the developing world could undermine the European Union’s efforts to bolster global partnerships in its search for its own independent place in the global power structure, as well as drum up support for Ukraine against Russia. | Experts also said that alienating nations in the developing world could undermine the European Union’s efforts to bolster global partnerships in its search for its own independent place in the global power structure, as well as drum up support for Ukraine against Russia. |
| “This kind of comment puts a serious dent in the enterprise of European strategic autonomy,” said Mohammadbagher Forough, a research fellow at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies. “It upsets at the most profound level countries in the rest of the world, because of the history of colonialism.” | “This kind of comment puts a serious dent in the enterprise of European strategic autonomy,” said Mohammadbagher Forough, a research fellow at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies. “It upsets at the most profound level countries in the rest of the world, because of the history of colonialism.” |
| In United Nations General Assembly votes, a bellwether for how well Western allies are doing against Russia’s own diplomatic efforts, the European Union and the United States have struggled to rally support from African and Asian countries they would normally call allies. High-profile partners like South Africa and India have chosen to abstain on key votes, for example. | In United Nations General Assembly votes, a bellwether for how well Western allies are doing against Russia’s own diplomatic efforts, the European Union and the United States have struggled to rally support from African and Asian countries they would normally call allies. High-profile partners like South Africa and India have chosen to abstain on key votes, for example. |
| Seasoned E.U. observers point out that Mr. Borrell is not an outlier when it comes to the dominant thinking at the heart of the bloc’s policy machinery. | Seasoned E.U. observers point out that Mr. Borrell is not an outlier when it comes to the dominant thinking at the heart of the bloc’s policy machinery. |
| “My sense is that Borrell is not fundamentally different from what this commission thinks more broadly,” said Shahin Vallée, who heads the German Council on Foreign Relations’ Geo-Economics Program. “More broadly, I think Europe is at a point of trying to define its identity and its contours.” | “My sense is that Borrell is not fundamentally different from what this commission thinks more broadly,” said Shahin Vallée, who heads the German Council on Foreign Relations’ Geo-Economics Program. “More broadly, I think Europe is at a point of trying to define its identity and its contours.” |
| “To me these comments echo two things: One is a civilizational turn and the resurgence of neoconservative sentiment,” he added, noting that the garden-jungle analogy used by Mr. Borrell was first employed by the prominent American neoconservative scholar Robert Kagan. | “To me these comments echo two things: One is a civilizational turn and the resurgence of neoconservative sentiment,” he added, noting that the garden-jungle analogy used by Mr. Borrell was first employed by the prominent American neoconservative scholar Robert Kagan. |
| Mr. Borrell on Monday rejected the idea that his comments were indicative of a neoconservative stance. | Mr. Borrell on Monday rejected the idea that his comments were indicative of a neoconservative stance. |
| “I have been disappointed by the interpretations that have been bandied around, I reject them totally,” he said. “I think everything I’ve done in my life completely goes against being called a neocon.” | “I have been disappointed by the interpretations that have been bandied around, I reject them totally,” he said. “I think everything I’ve done in my life completely goes against being called a neocon.” |
| Ivan Nechepurenko contributed reporting from Tbilisi, Georgia. | Ivan Nechepurenko contributed reporting from Tbilisi, Georgia. |