Last year, he was fined 30,000 euros for insider trading after selling shares in the group. Despite being from the region, Mr Borrell is staunchly against the Catalan independence movement. He stormed out of an interview in March with German television station DW when asked about the treatment of Catalan separatist leaders who were jailed after the failed independence declaration in 2017. High-profile experts and commentators have expressed concern about the nomination. Alanna O’Malley, Professor of United Nations Studies and former colleague of Mr Borrell at the European University Institute called the 72-year-old “a fine example of ineffectual, corrupt and empty leadership”. While others have pointed to some of the Spaniard’s more controversial comments as reason for his unsuitability to be the EU's top diplomat. Former UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights Ben Emmerson pointed to remark Mr Borrell made at a speech in Madrid in 2018, when he said all the US had to do to gain independence was “kill four Indians”. “Josep Borrell denies the mass slaughter of native Americans. In some European States, denial of the holocaust or other genocides is a crime. But the EU wants to appoint this man to head up its foreign policy,” Mr Emmerson wrote.","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The National","url":"https://www.thenationalnews.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.thenationalnews.com/pf/resources/images/logo_rectangle.png?d=279"}},"articleSection":"Europe","keywords":["the 40th anniversary of the Iranian revolution","Iran","European Parliament","Israel","Spain","United Nations","Spanish Socialist Party","European University Institute","Europe","Venezuela","pressure","United","united against nuclear iran","United States","Brodsky","Jason Brodsky","Alanna O'Malley","Syria","Donald Trump","Josep Borrell","Washington","World","renewable energy","Federica Mogherini","Madrid","general election","European Union","Ben Emmerson","Islamic Republic of Iran","Abengoa","finance","the European University Institute","Tehran","EU","Article"],"description":"A supporter of the Iranian regime, Mr Borrell will handle the EU's negotiations on the Iran nuclear deal","thumbnailUrl":"https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/7_evuWS3M8ALp7ydC2s-18Z9DN8=/400x267/filters:format(jpg):quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/thenational/BKJR3EBUFHTCHMN62FADHWKUD4.jpg","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/europe/nomination-of-josep-borrell-for-eu-high-representative-sparks-outcry-1.882431"}}