The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said on Monday 25 May that European unity was complicated to achieve.
“We need to bring the whole of Europe together. Frankly speaking, [...] it’s difficult, it’s hard, because there are big divides among Member States on many issues”, he said in a speech to the annual German ambassadors’ 2020 Conference. Germany will take over the Presidency of the EU Council on 1 July.
According to Mr Borrell, Europeans lack a common strategic culture, and this weakens EU action. “The need to act as a Team Europe, or as ‘Europe United’” is greater than ever, he insisted. But the High Representative also warned that Europeans’ ambitions would only be credible if they were backed by a “sense of shared ownership and responsibility among Member States”.
“There seems to be less trust and common ground among us, right when we need it most”, the head of European diplomacy lamented, adding that the willingness to compromise was less than it should be. “Too often, we are unable to reach a consensus, because Member States cling to their national viewpoints instead of understanding that there is a broader common interest”, he explained. However, Mr Borrell felt that an EU response, however imperfect in the eyes of some Member States, was often better than a deafening silence.
And with the new Multiannual Financial Framework due to be presented on Wednesday, Mr Borrell recalled that if the EU’s foreign policy is to be successful, everyone must be involved, both politically and financially. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)