The future of the EU is 'in danger'
The EU’s outgoing top diplomat, Josep Borrell, expressed concern on November 25 that the bloc’s future was at stake as it faced multiple crises at once, stressing that the EU could no longer rely on the United States to protect it.
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Mr Borrell painted an alarming picture of the state of world affairs on the occasion of the release of a collection of his speeches and essays entitled “Europe in the Ring of Fire”. He listed conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and Africa as the main issues threatening global security.
"The events we have faced in recent months have unfortunately confirmed the earlier diagnosis: Europe is in a dangerous situation," Borrell wrote on the EU website. "Our geopolitical environment is deteriorating, and conflicts and crises are intensifying right on our doorstep. From Ukraine to the Middle East, through the South Caucasus, the Horn of Africa or the Sahel," he stressed. "All this is happening against a backdrop where the US commitment to European security is becoming more uncertain."
The EU diplomat argued that Washington's commitment "to the security of all of Europe has become more uncertain in the future", due to the possibility of Donald Trump's re-election. "Our prosperity and our future cannot continue to depend on the mood of US voters in the Midwest every four years," Borrell warned, calling on the bloc's member states to strengthen their own defences.
He also stressed that there was a “serious risk” that the Ukraine conflict “could help form an alliance of ‘the rest against the West’.” He pointed to the recent BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, and stressed that such an alliance could also “materialize” in the Sahel, with UN peacekeeping forces leaving Mali by the end of 2023.
BRICS was founded in 2006 by Russia, India, China, Brazil and South Africa. Its members have refused to impose sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine conflict and continue to support a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
Russia and China have strengthened economic ties in recent years, describing their relationship as a “strategic partnership”. The two nuclear powers have also opposed the “one-sidedness” of the US-led NATO alliance and said they want to participate in shaping a more equitable model of international relations.