(11.10.2022)

Borrell, a Spanish former foreign minister, who has a reputation for bluntness, lamented that the EU’s global diplomatic network was less informative than reading the papers. “Sometimes, I knew more of what was happening somewhere by reading the newspapers than reading your reports,” he said.

“I should be the best-informed guy in the world,” Borrell complained, instructing them to be more reactive to unfolding crises. “Behave as you would behave if you were an embassy: send a telegram, a cable, a mail – quickly. Quickly, please, react.”