Josep Borrell

Josep Borrell Fontelles (born 24 April 1947) is a Spanish politician serving as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy since 1 December 2019. A member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), he served as President of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2007 and as Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation in the Government of Spain from 2018 to 2019.

Josep Borrell in 2020

Quotes

• Europe is a garden. We have built a garden... The rest of the world… is not exactly a garden. Most of the rest of the world is a jungle. The jungle could invade the garden. The gardeners should take care of it... [...] The jungle has a strong growth capacity… walls will never be high enough in order to protect the garden. The gardeners have to go to the jungle, Europeans have to be much more engaged with the rest of the world. Otherwise, the rest of the world will invade us, by different ways and means.
  • Quoted in EU’s Borrell calls Europe ‘garden,’ rest of world a ‘jungle’, 18 October 2022.

• Russia is a great country, it is a great nation, it is used to fighting to the end, and it is used to almost losing and then recovering. It did it with Napoleon, it did it with Hitler. It would be absurd to think that Russia has lost the war or that its military is incompetent.
  • Speech during the Ceremonia de Entrega del Premio Nueva Economía Fórum, 20 January 2023.

• We cannot afford Russia to win this war. Otherwise the US and European interests will be very damaged. It is not a matter of generosity alone, It is not a matter of supporting Ukrainian people because we love Ukrainian people. It is in our own interest, and it is also in the interest of the US as a global player, someone who has to be perceived as a reliable partner, a security provider to the allies.
  • Speech, 'Europeans have to take more responsibility for our defense,' says EU foreign policy chief, 25 March 2024.