On the day that Josep Borrell chose to speak about human rights and the persecution of minorities before the European Parliament, an MEP from the EU's newest member state suggested that such discourses would be more credible if the Union also put its own house in order. Mislav Kolakušić, Croatian politician and former candidate for the presidency of his country, criticized EU foreign policy chief Borrell and the entire European Union for the rights that are being violated by the member states themselves.
He cited a single example: Spain's "political prosecutions" of the Catalan independence leaders. "In order to give lessons to others, we first have to have a good look at ourselves. We have to make sure that these rights are observed. For example, in Spain, in Catalonia, there are political prosecutions about which we are silent, and we haven't even touched on this issue in this Parliament."
When Kolakušić finished his brief speech, he received enthusiastic applause from a part of the chamber.
Borrell, foreign policy representative of the European Union and a vice-president of the European Commission, did not applaud the Croatian's speech. For his part, Kolakušić is known in Croatia for his activism and he leads the NGO Antikorupcija which fights to end corruption in his home country.
Also in today's session, Catalan MEP and president in exile, Carles Puigdemont, noted Borrell's inconsistency: "His efforts are not credible in the eyes of third countries." And he made reference to the treatment of the Kurdish people by Turkey: "The Turkish interior minister justified the removal of democratically elected Kurdish mayors by referring to the precedent of Spain removing Basque and Catalan elected politicians without any trial." Furthermore, pointed out Puigdemont, Borrell's report failed to mention the situation of the Kurds "unlike other human rights reports".
"Recover Europe’s moral authority Mr Borrell", suggested Puigdemont. "Dissidents from all around the world will be grateful."