Josep Borrell & Building the Future

The High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, visited us, a few days ago, at the Euro-Mediterranean University in Fez, where he gave a lecture on a topic entitled “Our Strategic Responsibilities in the Current Geopolitical Context”.

Mr. Josep Borrell is a veteran politician since 1993, and a statesman with a great experience. He joined the “Socialist Workers Party” in Spain about 48 years ago, and was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for many terms. 

He also held the position of President of the European Parliament between 2004 and 2007; He is also a technologist and aeronautical engineer who managed to study in the most prestigious Spanish and international universities and was appointed as a minister several times.

The lecture was attended, in particular, by university students, officials, faculty members, and members of its board of directors. This lecture was presented by the University's President, Mr. Moustafa Bousmina, who is one of the world's leading scientists in the field of physics.

In his lecture, Mr. Borrell discussed the difficult geopolitical situation the world is currently experiencing, due to the repercussions of the war that broke out, last February, in Ukraine and has had an impact on the entire world, reflected in the rise of energy and food prices.

"It is related to the most important geopolitical event that I witnessed last year, and I believe that it will be the most important event for years to come," Mr. Borrell added, referring to the repercussions of this war on food and energy security in Europe and the rest of the world...

In his lecture, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy also focused on the health crisis of COVID-19, in light of the recent rise of infection cases in China, the wave of drought and floods, and their negative effects on many regions in the world, as well as the high number of refugees, and the war situation in other regions around the world.

Speaking about human capital, the European official underlined the need to give more attention to the younger generations and invest more in education, adding that "human capital is the most important capital."

In my capacity as a founding member and a member of the university’s board of directors, and a professor of strategy and international relations, I was very pleased with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy’s visit, and I was more pleased with the conversation that took place between him and university students from Morocco, Africa, and the Arab and Mediterranean regions.

The visions of these people reflected the breadth of their knowledge and their familiarity with the strategic facts despite their young age; They represent the future's elites and carry a new perception of the regional system and how the relations between the North and the South should be, especially as we know more about the countries of the North than what the countries of the North know about the South…

We were also happier when we, members of the University Board of Directors have a side talk with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the fringe of the lecture. I found that Mr. Borrell leans on a rational intellectual and ideological wall in dealing with political events in the world. I found him loving the one Mediterranean family, the common community idea, as well as the rich civilizational, historical, cultural, and linguistic heritage that unites us... I also came out with the conviction that such universities are the ones that should be the capital for crystallizing ideas and strategies for the interest of peoples...

Mr. Borrell was impressed by the degree that the university has reached in the field of scientific research and innovations, which are carried out by students and researchers, as they hold a correct view of the future and creativity that creates development in countries. If a person was satisfied with the process of lighting the candle only without searching for an alternative, he would not have been guided to electric lamps and the entry of electricity into all aspects of life.

Therefore, I say here that topics such as the "Third Wave", "Post-Industrial Society", "Information Technology Society", "Communication Society", "Knowledge Economy Society", "Global Village", "Cultural Capitalism" and "Network Society" and the "Technological Boom" indicate the state reached by the correct future vision of societies.

Countries, which focus on scientific developments, the need to rationalize and manage the production cycle poles, as well as studying sudden market expectations and their direct repercussions, and the disappearance of value-added professions from the new capitalist society, have taken the right path, but those, which have not yet taken this future path will suffer from greater crises than the repercussions of the financial crisis that the world experienced in 2008.

If countries are unable to innovate future products that generate the professions of tomorrow, and to prepare the upcoming generations in order to occupy future jobs, then in the future they will become mere countries for tourism...