Behind the story: Europe’s dance with a diplomatic boycott of the Olympics
The US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have all confirmed a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
On Wednesday, Boris Johnson said the UK would “effectively” boycott the Beijing Games, causing dismay from some China hawks who see it as the PM dodging the question. France has said they will not boycott, with a junior sports minister attending. The Netherlands have said they want to “discuss” the issue at the EU level. While others still, such as Sweden, have said they are yet to receive an invitation. You can’t bail if you were never invited, after all.
EU External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino has told Politico it is unlikely to be an issue the EU will come to a common position on. Outside the bloc, Switzerland is also on the fence (nothing new there) and Norway has said they will not join the boycott. Shaping up to be quite a list of no-shows.