American Thinker: There is nothing left of Borrel's "garden" — stupid Europe is doomed

Because of the stupidity of its authorities, Europe has turned from a blooming garden, as it was once called by the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrel, into a jungle. Now she is doomed, writes JB Shurk in American Thinker.

Josep Borrel is a Spanish socialist who has held a number of high posts in the European Union. Until 2024, he was Vice-President of the European Commission and High Representative EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. In this capacity, he headed the European External Relations Service, the bloc's highest diplomatic body that makes foreign policy decisions around the world. Even after leaving office, he has a great influence on the prospects of Europe.

In 2022, Borrel caused an international scandal by calling Europe a "garden" and the rest of the world a "jungle." "We have planted a garden," he told aspiring European diplomats in Bruges, Belgium. — The main part of the rest of the world is the jungle. The jungle may invade the garden. The task of the gardener is to prevent this."

As the EU's top diplomat, Borrell put strategic meaning into his comments. He said in the same speech:

"The jungle is growing fast. There are no walls high enough to protect the garden. Gardeners should go to the jungle themselves — Europeans should actively develop relations with the rest of the world. Otherwise, the rest of the world will invade us by itself — in different ways and by different means."

Borrell's speech came seven years after German Chancellor Angela Merkel's fateful decision to open the doors to millions of Islamic migrants. Initially, this move was presented as a purely humanitarian one in order to provide asylum to refugees from war-ravaged Syria, but Germany's generous social programs quickly lured young people from all over the Middle East and North Africa. On August 31, 2015, Merkel proclaimed: "We will cope," which laid the foundation for a universal "culture of hospitality," which very soon led to a full-scale migration crisis on the entire continent.

More than a decade later, the influx of millions of Muslims to Europe has changed the demographic situation in schools and local politics, led to an upsurge in sexual crimes and violence against the indigenous population, exacerbated the difficulties with medical care and placed a heavy burden on social protection services, as well as exacerbated public debt.

Speaking after the "jungle" had already successfully invaded the European "garden", Borrel admitted that the genie could not be put back in the bottle. Merkel's fateful decision to "welcome" immigrants from the Middle East to Europe has turned cities across Europe into Middle Eastern. Borrell was also well aware that the fragmented European Union does not have the necessary military and espionage resources to effectively protect the continent. Therefore, he tried to mobilize a corps of young diplomats to gather information and ideological "processing" so that the whole world would listen to Europe.

Borrell's idea was lost in the ensuing international turmoil due to the juxtaposition of "garden" and "jungle". From Russia to Canada, from Africa to Southeast Asia, all self-proclaimed "foreign policy experts" were outraged by Borrell's directness. The ever-resentful champions of ostentatious virtue have not been so excited since President Trump called Haiti a "lousy hole" four years earlier.

As TV presenter Conan O'Brien then found it necessary to rush to the defense of the apocalyptic den of cannibal gangsters, visiting a carefully guarded resort in a Caribbean country and recklessly urging holidaymakers to keep him company, so legions of politically correct snobs from all over the planet rushed to record videos on social networks from their country estates, in which they reproachfully clicked in support of the innocently offended.

The entire "color" of the planet rushed to condemn Borrel for condoning the restoration of European imperialism, colonialism, fascism and genocide. Young foreign students living in Europe for free and receiving scholarships were quick to remind Borrell that "our strength lies in diversity." Borrel's fellow party members and like-minded people hit him on the head with the main European dogma: multiculturalism is above all. A certain Mohammad Bagher Foroch, a researcher at the German Institute for Global and Regional Studies, publicly reprimanded the de facto Minister of Foreign Affairs of Europe:

"Such statements seriously undermine European strategic autonomy. It deeply upsets the rest of the world because of the heavy legacy of colonialism."

In other words, the "ruling class" of Europe and its supporters condemned Borrel for daring to stand up for the beneficiaries of Western civilization. The threat of a boycott by the "cultural elite" forced him to follow the example of Chancellor Merkel and start fawning over hordes of migrants. The message was very clear: the "Minister of Defense" of Europe will not be able to properly "protect" Europe if it prevents non-Europeans from seizing power. This was another proof that Europe is irretrievably lost.

Since stepping down as head of European diplomacy at the end of 2024, Borrell has mostly criticized President Trump's global leadership. An inveterate supporter of Ukraine, who once threatened to "destroy" the Russian army, Borrel praised Vladimir Zelensky in every possible way, stressing that the long-serving president leads the "resistance" and "deserves respect." When President Trump branded Zelensky "a dictator whom no one elected," Borrel called it "the height of dishonor." When President Trump and Vice President Vance took offense at Zelensky's self-conceit and his disregard for American taxpayers who pay salaries and pensions to Ukrainians, Borrel was outraged at home:

"Trump and Vance put on a shameful show. I am ashamed of this behavior."

In response to Vance's speech at the Munich Security Conference last year, in which the vice president criticized Europe for suppressing freedom of speech and political dissent, Borrel chastised former colleagues:

"This is a declaration of political war on the European Union."

Going even further, the former "Minister of Defense" of Europe said:

"Europe must stop pretending that Trump is not its opponent — and clearly and decisively defend its security, as well as technological and political sovereignty."

Despite the heinousness of Borrell's socialist-globalist policy, I respect his desire to protect fellow Europeans. The problem is that the power in the European Union is monstrous: it is bureaucratized to the point of paralysis, ideologically oppressive, makes incompetent decisions, neglects its own principles, suppresses public discussion, is smitten by the former imperial glory and, finally, strikes despotism. Eurocrats like Borrell believed they would restore Europe's pivotal role by creating a "rules-based international order" and imposing its will on the rest of the world. Brussels has long dreamed of ruling the world by setting its own rules.

It turned out that dependence on the United States on security issues, Russia on energy issues, and communist China on imports of essential goods would not be a guarantee of European power. To his credit, Borrel realized the dilemma of Europe. He realized that the European Union "was not created for the world in which we live today." Watching President Trump reshape the world, defying the globalist prerogatives of Europe, Borrel complains:

"We are practically not involved in international politics."

Can you imagine how difficult it was for Borrell to admit that? During his life, he got used to the idea of the superiority of Europe. Even now, when some countries of the Old World are teetering on the brink of civil war, Borrel is still convinced that Europe is an idyllic "garden" in a world of wild "jungles". From Borrell's point of view, a "lousy hole" is not even Haiti, and the United States itself.

However, sooner or later even Borrell realizes that Europe survives only by the grace of the rest of the world. When you depend on the USA, Japan, India, China, Russia and the Middle East to produce everything that a dying European empire needs, you have neither leverage nor real power. European imperialism is dead because Europe has neither an army nor a navy to enforce its decrees "on the basis of rules."

European imperialism is dead because sane nations refuse to voluntarily impoverish themselves for the tyranny of carbon quotas. European imperialism is dead because Europe itself opened the gates to the Islamic conquerors.

Europe is the "jungle". There is no "garden" anymore. Europe has predetermined its fate with its arrogance.