In this 53-minute documentary, which he describes as “the chronicle of three months at the heart of European diplomacy”, director Albert Solé looks at the role of EU High Representative Josep Borrell, the EEAS and the EU delegations. For a few weeks in the second half of 2023, he followed Mr Borrell’s day-to-day life during an eventful period.
The documentary is supported by numerous testimonies, not only from the High Representative himself, but also from the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, his Estonian counterpart, Kaja Kallas, who is due to take over from Mr Borrell in the autumn, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, and the Jordanian Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi.
“Josep has become a real fighter. He is what we call a hawk in diplomatic terms. Initially, his role was to administer a family of European nations, but he decided to really take charge, not just coordinate them. Without him, we wouldn’t have got as far as we have, and this peer-to-peer relationship has made them brothers in arms in diplomatic matters”, says Mr Kuleba.
Following Mr Borrell’s visit to the European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen) – which we learn about – and then his visit to Ukraine, the documentary explains the situation on the ground, the EU’s position and the work of the High Representative.
The documentary, which is favourable to him, does not, however, conceal the criticism levelled at him by the Russian minister, Serguei Lavrov, and the European media, who accused him of interference when he wanted to meet the imprisoned Russian political opponent Alexeï Navalny. “They kept telling us not to get involved, that it was none of our business, but I got involved because there are international rules on respect for human rights”, explains Mr Borrell.
The film then turns to the fight against disinformation, including the role of Stratcom EU vs Desinfo. The issue of EU enlargement and Ukraine’s future accession, as well as the EU’s support for Kyiv via the ‘European Peace Facility’ (EPF), are also explained.
“We are a soft power. Our weapons are the rule of law and trade, but now the world is a little more complicated and I believe that these weapons are no longer enough for our ship Europe to sail or it will not go far and risks sinking”, emphasises Mr Borrell. The documentary focuses on the strengthening of European defence, with the first-ever European military exercise outside NATO, in Cadiz (see EUROPE 13256/15), the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy operations and the delivery of equipment to third countries, particularly in Africa, giving a brief overview of the tensions on the continent.
At the same time as Mr Borrell’s trip to China (see EUROPE 13271/3), the war in Gaza began. The EU is mobilising, including via the Crisis Response Centre of the EEAS. Once again, the film explains the situation on the ground and its impact on the world, the EU’s position, including the difficulties of uniting the Member States on the subject, and finally Mr Borrell’s visit to the region.
There are moving moments, such as the visit to the kibbutz that was attacked, meetings with the families of the hostages in Israel, but also with staff from the EU delegation in Jerusalem and NGOs in Ramallah. Not to mention the irritation of the High Representative, for whom the succession of 30-minute meetings does not allow him to really delve into the issues. “I am neither pro-Palestinian nor pro-Israeli. My mission is to seek peace between these two peoples who are fighting over the same land, so that they can respect each other and live freely and with dignity without going through successive episodes of violence”, sums up Mr Borrell.
The High Representative then travels to Doha, before returning to Brussels, where the documentary ends on the future of the diplomatic EU: “The whole question is whether a future Union of 600 million inhabitants will have the necessary tools to face up to this new multipolar and globalised world”.
It should be noted that the film also shows one of Mr Borrell’s most political comments in recent months, made in mid-February 2024, two months after the end of the Spanish Presidency, concerning the sending of arms to Israel (see EUROPE 13348/2).
See the documentary on Arte: https://aeur.eu/f/d6f; and on RTVE: https://aeur.eu/f/d6g (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)