,
10 tweets,
4 min read
Read on Twitter
Tomorrow in the European Parliament, there will be a hearing on whether to confirm Josep Borrell as the EU's chief diplomat.
Before voting, MEPs should consider asking Mr. Borrell the following 10 questions:
1. As chief of EU diplomacy, will he continue to mock journalists?
Before voting, MEPs should consider asking Mr. Borrell the following 10 questions:
1. As chief of EU diplomacy, will he continue to mock journalists?
2. Does Mr. Borrell truly believe that the Catalan independence movement helped cause the Spanish Civil War?
3. Does Mr. Borrell feel that it is appropriate for public officials, during a trial, to state that political rivals "deliberately violated the law"?
Is Mr. Borrell aware of CoE guidance on ECHR Article 6 which prohibits such statements?
Is Mr. Borrell aware of CoE guidance on ECHR Article 6 which prohibits such statements?
4. Is Mr. Borrell's position on the self-determination of peoples the same as Spanish President Pedro Sánchez's? "No is no. Never is never"?
Will he apply the same opposition to the principle of self-determination elsewhere in European diplomacy?
Will he apply the same opposition to the principle of self-determination elsewhere in European diplomacy?
5. What is Mr. Borrell's position on the principle of parliamentary immunity?
He has defended it (in Venezuela), but has said nothing of the 3 Catalan MEPs who, despite having won elections, have been prevented by Spain from taking their seats in the EP.
He has defended it (in Venezuela), but has said nothing of the 3 Catalan MEPs who, despite having won elections, have been prevented by Spain from taking their seats in the EP.
6. February 2019, Borrell:
"Independentists think that the nation makes the State. I think the opposite: the State makes the nation. A strong State, which imposes its language, its culture, its education."
Does he plan to "impose" language and culture as chief of EU diplomacy?
"Independentists think that the nation makes the State. I think the opposite: the State makes the nation. A strong State, which imposes its language, its culture, its education."
Does he plan to "impose" language and culture as chief of EU diplomacy?
7. Does Mr. Borrell feel that having described genocide in the Americas as "all they did was kill 4 Indians" might affect the EU's diplomatic efforts in areas with large indigenous populations?
8. If Mr. Borrell, who used privileged information as a board member of an energy company to sell stocks for profit, is confirmed, will he use his position as head of EU diplomacy to make a personal profit?
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
9. Does Mr. Borrell believe that the fact that his government has had zero conversations with the leaders of Catalonia's main pro-independence parties (Puigdemont and Junqueras) is helping lead to a sustainable political solution in Catalonia?
europa.eu/rapid/press-re…
europa.eu/rapid/press-re…
10. Does Mr. Borrell feel that it is appropriate for an EU Member State to imprison activists Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez, despite (a) neither having been yet convicted of any crimes, (b) Amnesty Intl. calling repeatedly for their immediate release?
amnesty.org/en/latest/news…
amnesty.org/en/latest/news…
