EU has little appetite to join US diplomatic Games boycott
BRUSSELS — Several European Union nations have made it clear they have little appetite to join the U.S. initiative for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Games because of concerns over China’s human rights record.
EU foreign ministers were seeking a united front on how to handle the issue, following France’s position last week that a no-show of leaders and dignitaries at the opening of the Olympics would have little true impact.
“Politicizing sporting events like the Winter Olympics does not seem useful to me,” said Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told ZDF broadcaster that as little as possible should be taken away from the participants themselves. “Athletes prepare for years, sometimes half their lives, for this, and that’s why it should not be used for political issues.” China has dismissed the decision by Canada and the United Kingdom to join Washington’s diplomatic boycott as a “farce” and was not expecting the initiative to garner a worldwide following.
Even though the 27 EU nations will send individual teams and the bloc as such will not have its own athletes, the EU foreign ministers want to streamline their participating in the largely symbolic diplomatic dance preceding and at the Feb. 4 opening ceremony for the games.
