More or Less Borrell? A Critical Analysis of Josep Borrell as the European Union's High Representative

This article reviews Josep Borrell's tenure as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) from December 2019 to June 2024. It focuses on his efforts to enhance the European Union's (EU's) global influence and stability amid challenges such as Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine, shifting EU policies towards China and the United States and the conflict in Gaza. Key EU policies during this period include the Strategic Compass in defence and REPowerEU in energy security. In surveying these policies, the article examines Borrell's effectiveness in mediating foreign policy responses from EU member states and fostering a unified stance during crises. It further explores how Borrell's approach enabled him to maintain or enhance his leadership role through the ‘performance’ of key policies like REPowerEU, reflecting ‘leaderisation’ (Aggestam and Hedling, 2020). Leaderisation in this sense involves leaders engaging in sense-making of their role to connect with different audiences (Aggestam and Hedling, 2020, p. 306). Borrell's successes and challenges provide insights into the EU's capacity to develop a cohesive foreign policy framework and influence regional and global politics. We conclude that Borrell's tenure involved both tacit and active contributions, from moderate efforts to advance Commission President von der Leyen's 2019 ‘Geopolitical Commission’ agenda during Brexit and COVID-19 to successful alignment of energy policy with EU foreign policy and a unified response to the invasion of Ukraine.

The 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam, effective May 1999, established the position of High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, initially held by Javier Solana. Solana's role was more limited than today's HR/VP as defined by the Treaty of Lisbon (European Parliament, 2009). Solana's tenure shaped the role for future HR/VPs by balancing member states' differing foreign policy views with a value-based approach, enabling the EU to act effectively (Helwig, 2015, p. 87). In his term, he stressed the importance of aligning EU responses to global events, particularly in complex regions like the Western Balkans.

The 2009 Lisbon Treaty expanded and clarified the HR/VP role a bit further. Veteran British politician Catherine Ashton was the first to hold this expanded position. She oversaw the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS), balancing member state sensitivities with the need for coherence in EU foreign policy. Ashton's behind-the-scenes consensus-building methods enhanced the HR/VP role's capacity to strengthen relations between the Council, Commission and EEAS and secure successive rounds of sanctions (Tallberg, 2006).

Federica Mogherini, who succeeded Ashton in 2014, developed the EU's first global strategy since the 2003 European Security Strategy. Mogherini's expertise in authoring the EU Global Strategy (EUGS) was symbiotic to her leadership style, described by Aggestam and Hedling as ‘leadership as an ongoing process of performance’, involving key policy artefacts and the use of performative acts in the launch and promotion of key policies. As discussed later, Borrell's own use of REPowerEU mirrors Mogherini's approach, but is starkly contrasted with that of the Strategic Compass (Novotná, 2015).

Throughout his tenure, Borrell has witnessed a series of major global events through which he has tried to forge a unified EU foreign policy.

The period of 2019–2024 has been a defining era in world politics, marking significant challenges and turning points for EU integration. Under the leadership of Ursula von der Leyen, with Josep Borrell handling external relations as mandated by the EU Council, the EU navigated both well and awkwardly through these turbulent times, emerging with both valuable lessons learned from various crises and underdeveloped diplomatic mechanisms still hampering the EU's ability to play its full geopolitical, even global, role. Borrell has operated strategically in some areas, cultivating policies like REPowerEU by which to promote himself and project EU actorness in global politics whilst underplaying opportunities to push the EU towards strategic autonomy in other areas, including the Strategic Compass. As explored, there are a number of ‘voices’ that Borrell chooses to employ: some personal, some professional, some reactive and some representative; the majority have been in the service of a united common foreign policy for the EU in areas, possibly most articulate in those areas where his own views align propitiously with those of key member states. In more contentious domains, Borrell has tended to default to his own opinions and then run retrospective interference to marshal a common stance amongst EU members. Whether the succeeding HR/VP will cultivate a similar approach and the impact this has on forging EU foreign affairs amidst global turbulence remains to be seen.