Josep Borrell is a few weeks away from stepping down as the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Across his five years in office, one recurring frustration has stood out: the difficulty in pressuring the EU to push for a ceasefire in Gaza and to curtail the killing of thousands of civilians in the strip.
“My greatest regret is not being able to influence [the Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to avoid what they did in Gaza”, the senior European official said during an event with the incoming president of the European Commission at Casa de América in Madrid. The remarks were made alongside prominent figures such as Antonio Costa and former minister Arancha González Laya. “The disappointment is that people in Gaza are dying after Hamas’ horrific terrorist attacks. Nearly 40,000 people have been killed, mostly women and children. The EU, however, has failed to unite in seeking a ceasefire and then a political solution. For months, we have been asking Netanyahu not to proceed with his plan.”
Borrell also criticized what he called a blocking of consensus by a single country, unnamed, as the main source of division over Gaza as well as the difficulties in achieving consensus on Ukraine. Hungary has repeatedly blocked many of the Council’s resolutions in recent years.
“Without unity, Europe is irrelevant. Our division over the Gaza conflict has prevented us from acting as a geopolitical actor, while our unity on Ukraine has allowed us to play a significant role. Today, unity proves powerful; division renders Europe invisible. Gaza is the greatest test that when we are divided, we cannot be the key geopolitical actor we could be. If we condemn water and food cuts as a war crime in Ukraine, we must condemn them in Gaza as well.”
Another topic touched on was the EU’s ability to project influence when it speaks with one voice. The absence of internal cohesion in Gaza has dimmed the EU’s international clout, whereas a united stance on Ukraine showed Europe’s capacity to shape events at the highest level. The message was clear: the bloc’s credibility rests on unity, and its weight in the world follows accordingly.
Regarding his most notable achievement, the outgoing high representative highlighted the proactive use of the European Peace Facility to jointly fund the military support sent to Ukraine. “I picked up the phone and asked my EU colleagues why we couldn’t use the peace fund to send arms. They told me it had never been done. But we did it anyway”, he recalled. The moment underscored a willingness to deploy existing EU budgetary tools creatively to support shared security goals. The practical result was a faster, more coordinated response across EU member states and a signal that the bloc could mobilize resources efficiently when unity existed.
The overall conversation reflected a diplomat who has long balanced competing imperatives: maintaining strategic credibility with partner countries, responding to humanitarian concerns, and upholding a coherent EU policy line amid evolving geopolitical pressures. The discourse suggested that the true test for Europe lies not only in policy statements but in the steadfastness to act together when it matters most, even in the face of difficult political realities and divergent member interests. In that sense, the era is seen as a moment of learning for Europe about how to align values with strategic influence, especially in crises that reverberate across continents.
[citation attribution: EU Council records and public remarks, as summarized for context.]