The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, announces, in an interview with Sunday newspaper (JDD) dated November 14, that new sanctions will be taken on Monday in Brussels against Belarus, accused of instrumentalizing the issue of migrants.
During the Council of Foreign Affairs Ministers of the European Union (EU) to be held in the Belgian capital, “We are going to give the green light to a widening of the legal framework of our sanctions against Belarus so that it can be applied to all those involved in the smuggling of migrants to this country, for example airlines or travel agencies involved, by banning their leaders from traveling and freezing their assets in Europe ”, reveals the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
“But that will not prevent us from sanctioning on Monday, within the framework already in force and for the fifth time, around thirty officials of the Lukashenko administration who are involved in this crisis”, he adds.
” [Le président biélorusse Alexandre] Lukashenko was wrong, continues Josep Borrell. He believed that by retaliating in this way he was going to twist our arms and have the sanctions canceled. Quite the opposite is happening. We strengthen them by targeting precisely those who cooperate with him. ”
No “European army”
Asked about relations between the European Union and Russia, the head of diplomacy said he wanted to “Continue to speak with the Russian leaders” because “Russia is not going to move, it remains our big neighbor” and “A global partner”. However, “Let’s stop being hypocrites, launches Josep Borrell. Obviously there is a Russian threat, otherwise we would not have troops deployed in the Baltic countries ”. The High Representative of the European Union presented the 27 with a draft “Strategic compass”, supposed “Protect Europe from all threats”. “The EU must (…) to be an institution that protects us ”, he pleads. “Europe is in danger and Europeans do not realize it”, he asserts.
Yet the EU’s foreign minister does not believe in the concept of“European army” mentioned by French President Emmanuel Macron. “The French like to talk about a European army, but that is not what will be created”replied Mr. Borrell, when asked how and with what means the Twenty-Seven could defend themselves.
For him, the solution lies in better coordination of national armies. “If we add the capabilities of all European countries, this represents four times the military power of Russia and the equivalent of that of China in budgetary terms., he argues. The problem is, we are spending these defense budgets in a way that is far too fragmented, with too much duplication. “