“Year of transition”, characterizes the outgoing year the High Representative of the EU, Josep Borel, in a review of all the material for 2021 that he publishes on his personal blog.
“Geopolitical change has intensified with the policies of the authorities repeatedly challenging the EU and its values. “We must respond with all our determination,” he said.
Josep Borrell stresses that the EU is not aiming to be a military power in traditional terms, but should be in a better position to defend itself. “The Strategic Compass should be approved next March and allow us to take our own security and defense more seriously,” he said.
Regarding Turkey, Borrell estimates that tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean tend to ease. In particular, he said: “The situation in Libya seems to have stabilized, with elections being postponed again and tensions with Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean tending to ease this year. The Union’s Regional Forum for the Mediterranean and the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting in Barcelona in late November also recalled the urgent need to close the growing gap between the two Mediterranean coasts and seize new opportunities, for example around the green transition. ».
Moreover, in the eastern neighborhood, 2021 presented “clear examples of political power,” as in the cases of Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, according to Borrell. “To address these threats, the EU has provided political as well as operational support to its partners in a consistent and unified manner, for example with the 5th package of sanctions against the Lukashenko regime in Belarus. As hybrid conflicts multiply, we must continue to support Ukraine or Moldova in resisting Russian pressure and maintain a relentless approach to Belarus. In this regard, the Eastern Partnership Summit reaffirmed the EU’s strategic, ambitious and forward-looking approach to our partners in Eastern Europe. “
For the Western Balkans, Mr Borrell points out that “increasing divisive rhetoric and actions in the region, especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina, have hampered efforts to bring the six countries closer to their European future.”
On EU-US relations, the High Representative underlined that 2021, under President Biden, brought about the resumption of relations on both sides of the Atlantic, enabling progress in climate change, the Iran nuclear negotiations and the business taxation. “While the way in which the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the AUKUS decision turned out to be unfortunate, at the end of the year we held close EU-US consultations on China and the Indo-Pacific and also agreed to start a special EU-US security and defense dialogue “.
As far as China is concerned, Mr Borrell points out that the unity of the EU has been maintained, recognizing that the EU sees the country as a partner, competitor and systemic adversary at the same time. He notes as “blows” the deteriorating human rights situation inside China, its regional behavior, as well as the decision to impose sanctions on MEPs and other official EU bodies and, more recently, the trade embargo on Lithuania.
For Africa, Mr Borrell says the year has been marked by a number of conflicts, with the Sahel deteriorating and the Ethiopian civil war taking on a “dramatic dimension”. It also notes that the EU-EU Summit is being prepared for February, where the EU will have to deliver on its promises, in particular on vaccines and climate funding.
Mr Borel concludes that in 2021 the EU has worked to defend its interests and values ​​and to strengthen a rule-based world order in this year of transition – a task that must continue in 2022.
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