Josep Borrell - Criticism

Criticism

On 28 September 2006, Josep Borrell argued that there are Nordic countries in the European Union which have not experienced the rigours of war, demonstrating a lack of knowledge in history. Two of the three Nordic countries which are in the EU were involved in conflict during World War II. Finland was attacked by the Soviet Union, while Denmark suffered from German occupation. Borrell was trying to defend the decision by the European Parliament to acquire their premises in Strasbourg, and pointed out that much of the opposition came from people in countries which supposedly had not experienced war. His remarks drew sharp criticism in papers throughout the Nordic countries. The Swedish language newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet in Finland offered an open invitation to Borrell to visit the graves of war victims in Finland, while Finnish MEPs called Borrell's knowledge about European history "embarrassing".

The next day, Borrell claimed he was only referring to Sweden, and apologized for offending people with his comments. This remark only served to worsen the criticism, with Danish, Norwegian and Finnish papers pointing out a lack of knowledge not only about history but also about geography, apparently ignoring the fact that Norway and Finland are generally considered Nordic countries.