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Rabat – The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell on Tuesday evening apologized for his controversial “jungle” remarks, stating “I am sorry if some have felt offended.”
Speaking to a group of students in Brussels, the EU official said that “Most of the rest of the world is a jungle, and the jungle could invade the garden [Europe],” referring to current developments in global politics.
Borrell’s controversial remarks shared during an event at the College of Europe made headlines globally with the UAE’s Foreign Ministry condemning the “inappropriate and discriminatory” statement and asking the Acting Head of the Mission at the EU Delegation to the UAE Emil Paulsen to issue a written explanation on the comments.
Abu Dhabi described the statement as “racist,” warning that it might “contribute to a worsening climate of intolerance and discrimination worldwide.”
Responding to the global condemnation of his remarks, Borrell explained yesterday in a blog titled “On metaphors and geopolitics” that “the metaphor of ‘the garden’ and ‘the jungle’ is not my invention,” stressing that the “concept has been present in academic and political debates for decades.”
“All my life I have been totally opposed to any form of contempt or racism towards anyone,” the EU official stated, adding that “indeed and unfortunately, the “jungle” is everywhere, including today in Ukraine.”
Borrell’s supposed sincere apology letter to the world appeared to praise Europe’s record in promoting peace and upholding international laws. As reflected in the blog’s title, Borrell opted to lecture those who “misinterpreted” his words.
Refusing to have his remarks labeled as “colonial” and “euro-centric,” the EU senior official stated “that neither Europe nor “the West” is perfect and that some countries of “the West” have at times violated international legality.”
However, Borrell’s attempts to sweep Europe’s centuries-long colonial history under the rug appear to be another desperate yet alarming bid to underplay the lasting physical and psychological damage caused by Europe’s legacy of colonialism and slavery.
And by doing so, the senior diplomat is also reproducing oriental and colonial discourses that continue to shape the power dynamics between developed and developing countries.
While all countries theoretically enjoy equal status under international law, former colonies remain reliant on their former colonizers despite emerging attempts to break free from lingering post-colonial chains such as the British Commonwealth and France’s International Organization of Francophone.
As the power dynamics between the two sets of countries continue to be asymmetrical, the rise of xenophobia especially in Europe and the US is normalizing “racist” and “discriminatory” comments such as Borrell’s statement or Trump’s infamous “shithole countries” remarks that took social media by storm in 2018.
Just another controversy
With Borrell continuing to defend his strong yet controversial views on the world, this is not his first controversy this year.
Borell has repeatedly undermined EU policy on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, misrepresenting numbers on Russian troops, unilaterally promising European fighter jets to Ukraine, and promising that Europe would “annihilate” Russia if it chose to use a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine.
In August, Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita canceled a meeting with the EU High Representative following the latter’s comments on the Western Sahara dispute.
In an interview with Spanish news outlet RTVE, Borrell claimed that the Spanish government’s stance on the lingering dispute “was, and is, that of the EU, that is defending the holding of a consultation so that it is the Sahrawi people who decide how they want their future to be.”
Borrell’s comments contradicted Spain’s earlier endorsement of the Moroccan Autonomy for the Western Sahara dispute as the only “credible and serious” solution to the regional dispute.
In March, the EU diplomat was also at the center of tensions between Rabat and Brussels due to the participation of a delegation from the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic (SADR) at the EU-AU summit.
In a reply to a question raised by a European PM, Borrell stressed that “none of the Member States of the European Union recognizes the SADR and participation in the EU-AU summit does not change the position of the European Union and its member states.”
While Borrell’s diplomatic response at the time prevented a crisis between Rabat and Brussels, his recent “racist” statements fuel discriminatory far-right discourses such as the “great replacement theory” that continues to find adherents in several European countries, including Italy, Sweden, and Germany.
