Speaking at the opening of the European Diplomatic Academy in Bruges on October 13, Borrell said that Europe was a "garden" and the rest of the world was a "jungle" that can invade this garden if "gardeners" do not take care of it. This statement provoked criticism from the European and international community.
"Some have misinterpreted the metaphor as 'colonial Euro-centrism.' I am sorry if some have felt offended. I believe and have said, for instance to the EU Ambassadors last week, that we are often too Euro-centric and need to be humble and get to know better the rest of the world including the Global South," Borrell said in a statement, published on Tuesday evening.
At the same time, the official noted that the modern world resembles a "jungle" more and more, as the "law of the strongest is eroding agreed international norms."
"We face a world of power politics with the weaponisation of interdependence and more examples of countries using force, intimidation and blackmail to get their way. The growth of this lawless world and disorder is what I meant when talking about the ‘jungle’. My reference to ‘jungle’ has no racist, cultural or geographical connotation. Indeed and unfortunately, the ‘jungle’ is everywhere, including today in Ukraine," the statement read.
Borrell specified that the European integration project initially relied on a rejection of power politics and "the law of the jungle."
"We succeeded by supplanting power calculations with legal procedures. That is why I spoke about the ‘European garden’: our record, thanks to our Union, of cementing peace and cooperation among previously warring parties, with a shared commitment to uphold rules and laws," Borrell added.
At some point in his statement, Borrell admitted that "neither Europe nor ‘the West’ is perfect and that some countries of ‘the West’ have at times violated international legality." However, the official then once again appealed to the image of "gardeners" that want to build a peaceful and lawful order and called on them to "unite and work together to beat back ‘the jungle’."