Josep Borrell wraps up tumultuous time as EU's top diplomat

Brussels — 

Josep Borrell took a deep breath as the train rumbled across Ukraine at the end of his final visit after five tumultuous years as the EU's foreign policy chief.

"I feel a certain nostalgia," the 77-year-old Spaniard said, hunching forward to be heard over the noise of the tracks.

"We've been working closely with these people, who are great people, who are fighting for their survival,” he said. “And who knows what's going to happen with them?"

The job of EU top diplomat has often been seen as thankless — trying to coordinate the sometimes radically opposed positions of 27 countries, each jealously guarding their own foreign policy.

But Borrell's tenure, wrapping up next month, has thrust him into the center of some of the most consequential events in recent world history.

He has helped steer the bloc's response to the COVID pandemic, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and war in the Middle East.

Ukraine war

It was Moscow's all-out assault in February 2022 that upended European security and came to dominate his time at the helm.

Borrell, a Socialist former Spanish foreign minister with more than 40 years of political experience, immediately pushed for the EU to pay for weapons deliveries to a country at war, a longstanding red line for the bloc.

"This was a breakthrough in the way we behaved."

Since then, the EU has spent billions more on arming Ukraine and Russia has been hit by repeated rounds of unprecedented sanctions despite regular obstacles from reluctant EU states such as Hungary.

While the Ukraine crisis has revealed the EU's willingness to act, the war in Gaza by contrast has been the most painful episode for Borrell.

Since Israel unleashed its devastating offensive after the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, the EU has had no influence to curb the suffering, with its member states deeply divided over the conflict.

He said the refusal by member states supportive of Israel to do more has damaged the EU on the global stage.

"My biggest frustration is not being able to make it understood that a violation of international law is a violation of international law, whoever does it," Borrell said.

'Break taboos'

The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs is constrained by how far member states are willing to go, and a simple statement can take days of wrangling.

Borrell has frequently angered EU capitals by going beyond their agreed positions.

"One has to break taboos," he said. "Agreed language most of the time says nothing. We agree on saying nothing."

Critics, and there are plenty in sharp-elbowed Brussels, say Borrell has not helped his case, with numerous gaffes and some tactical missteps.

A low point of his tenure was a disastrous trip to Moscow in early 2021 when he was caught in a diplomatic ambush and failed to push back against Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.

But as Moscow's assault on Ukraine played out, he proved a fast learner, said Gabrielius Landsbergis, foreign minister of Lithuania, one of the Baltic states wary of nearby Russia.

"We witnessed a transformation from Russia-threat agnostic into Russia hawk — who could very well come from the Baltics," he told AFP.

'All things pass'

On Borrell’s final trip to Ukraine, he held talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, visited a drone factory, and headed to a defensive position near Russia's border.

"It generates a lot of adrenaline," he said, to explain how he has kept up with the pace.

Despite the weight on his shoulders, he said there have been moments of joy.

He pointed to the warm welcome he received on his final Ukraine visit, appreciation from some Palestinians and being able to help repatriate hundreds of thousands of Europeans during the pandemic.

As he leaves the stage, the global situation looks perilous, with a new U.S. administration heralding challenges for Europe, Russia advancing in Ukraine and war raging in the Middle East.

Borrell is to be replaced in the job by former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, 47, who is expected to bring a more tightly controlled style.

"She will perform very well, and she will be very happy, and she will suffer less than me," he said. "I wish her the best."