However, many politicians and experts in the bloc expressed outrage.
Alice Bah Kuhnke, a prominent Swedish member of the European Parliament for the Green Party, said: “This disgusting colonial language is unacceptable from any representative of our union, at least. especially among all of our top diplomats.”
“This is not the first time that Borrell’s behavior has reflected badly on the EU,” she added, referring to previous instances when Mr Borrell’s comments sparked outrage for being clumsy, extreme or rude. “Again, this raises questions about whether he is fit to continue as a senior agent.”
Experts also say alienating countries in the developing world could undermine the European Union’s efforts to strengthen global partnerships to find its own independent position. in the global power structure, as well as increasing support for Ukraine against Russia.
“This kind of comment puts a serious dent in Europe’s strategic autonomous enterprise,” Mohammadbagher Forough, a researcher at Germany’s Institute for Regional and Global Studies. “It upsets nations at the deepest level in the rest of the world, because of the history of colonialism.”
In the United Nations General Assembly votes, along with how well Western allies are doing in the face of Russia’s own diplomatic efforts, the European Union and the United States have struggled to collect draw support from African and Asian nations, which they often call allies. For example, high-level partners such as South Africa and India chose to abstain from important votes.
Seasoned EU observers point out that Mr Borrell is no exception when it comes to the mainstream thinking at the heart of the bloc’s policy machine.
“My feeling is that Borrell is fundamentally no different from what this committee thinks more broadly,” said Shahin Vallée, head of the Geoeconomics Program of the German Council on Foreign Relations. “More broadly, I think Europe is at a point where it’s trying to define its identity and its lines.”
