European Union Diplomat Says His Biggest Regret Is Failure To Prevent Death And Destruction In Gaza

Josep Borrell. (Twitter/@JosepBorellF)

JAKARTA - EU foreign policy chief to step down Josep Borrell said on Thursday his biggest regret during his tenure was the failure to persuade the Israeli government to prevent the loss of life and destruction in Gaza.

"Almost 40,000 people have died in Gaza, many of them are women and children, and the international community and the European Union have not been able to reach a ceasefire and are starting to think about a political solution after how many months?" Borrell asked sadly, reported by the Daily Sabah July 5.

Speaking at a European Council meeting on Foreign Relations in Madrid, the senior diplomat regretted the European Union had become a "non-actor" in the Middle East crisis.

"This is my biggest frustration and the biggest example of how, when the European Union is divided, we can't even fulfill the role of a geopolitical actor, which we pretend to do," explains Borrell.

Furthermore, Borrell also said that the credibility of the European Union was threatened because of its "relevance" and "inevitability" in the situation.

"The European Union's heart could be under the ruins of Gaza," he said.

"To clearly show the world that life is important, both in Ukraine and Gaza, is one of the European Union's most important political efforts. And when we say that cutting off the supply of water, electricity and food for civilians is a war crime when we talk about Ukraine, the same words need to be used when we talk about Gaza. However, this is not true," he explained.

Borrell added that the European Union would be judged by other countries, from Southeast Asia to Latin America and Africa, for its "capacity to maintain basic principles" and how to respond to this war.

His remarks were made during a conversation with the new President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, who did not directly comment on Gaza. Costa, from Portugal and Borrell, from Spain, came from the Socialist Party.

As advice on his separation to Costa, Borrell urged the former Portuguese prime minister to "present" from day one, he was "a representative of the European Union for foreign policy and security."