The US has come to represent "force without law" Josep Borrell, the
newly elected president of the European Parliament, said in an
interview with the Wall Street Journal on 29 July. He called for
the EU to strengthen its military capacities. "Europe cannot just
be an intellectual reserve of the American empire," said Borrell.
Along with the Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero, elected in March
2004, he advocated withdrawing Spanish troops from Iraq in a major
policy shift that ended the strong ties between the white house and
Zapators predecessor, the conservative José Maria Aznar.
While calling for more unity on foreign policy issues, Borrell
admitted that the EU is split with "Eastern Europe and the UK on
one side, and the rest of Europe on the other".
The comments from Borrell came as the European Parliament
established a new sub-committee on Security and Defense policy.