After Joe Biden came to power, EU-US relations are unlikely to return to the level they were before Donald Trump.

This was stated by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell in an interview with leading European media.

Recall, despite the fact that the official results of the elections in the United States have not yet been summed up, most American media, based on the available data, attribute the victory to Democrat Joe Biden. 

“I am convinced that Biden will not view Europe as an enemy, and we will be friends, allies and partners.

And I think we will have a structured relationship.

But we must be realistic: over the years, great changes have taken place in the basis of American society, which will remain after Trump, ”El Pais quoted Borrell as saying.

According to the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the European Union will play a more significant role in its region.

This is due, inter alia, to a shift in Washington's foreign policy interests towards the Asia-Pacific region.

“The frontline of the United States is no longer in Europe, it is in the Pacific.

At the same time, the United States began to take a closer look at what was happening inside the country.

This means that our role will have to be completely different from that which we played after the Second World War in order to aim at what we call strategic autonomy, ”Borrell said.

  • Josep Borrell

  • Reuters

  • © Yves Herman / Pool

He noted that Europe should be able, if necessary, to independently defend its interests and values.

“Strategic autonomy is not something extraordinary.

This is just the adult life of the EU, which has long slept under the protective umbrella of the United States.

But it would be a mistake to believe that this autonomy has only a military dimension.

Europe must be able to defend its interests and values.

Together with your allies whenever possible.

But when this is impossible, then on their own, ”said the European official.

At the same time, he emphasized that a number of threats faced by Brussels cannot be eliminated within the framework of the activities of the North Atlantic Alliance.

“Many threats are beyond NATO's competence.

Europe should be autonomous in areas such as technology, trade, exchange rate, control over migration flows, ”explained the head of European diplomacy.

At the same time, returning to the question of Joe Biden's probable coming to power, Joseph Borrell expressed the hope that under him the United States would realize the inexpediency of Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal with Iran.

He recalled that thanks to this agreement, Iran is not a nuclear power today.

As for the trade wars unleashed by Donald Trump with China, Borrell called them a mistake.

“We, on both sides of the Atlantic, understand that the playing field needs to be leveled, with greater reciprocity in our relationship with Beijing.

The problem is how to approach it.

We don't want trade wars because we also need to cooperate with China.

Trump was mistaken in starting a trade war, which he did not win, because their deficit (the United States -

RT

) increased.

I think there will be changes in form, but at a deep level, the attitude towards China is a matter of consensus in the United States, ”Borrell said. 

Broken relationships

Recall that relations between Brussels and Washington began to deteriorate in 2017, after Donald Trump came to power in the United States.

On a number of key issues, the Trump administration's policies have diverged from those of the EU.

So, on June 1, 2017, Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, the goal of which is to prevent the average annual temperature on Earth from rising by more than 2 ℃ from the pre-industrial level by 2100.

The European Union ratified this document in 2016 and remains an active supporter of it.

A year later, on May 8, 2018, Trump announced the withdrawal of the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program.

This agreement was signed by Iran with six countries: the United States, Russia, China, Great Britain, France and the Federal Republic of Germany in 2015.

According to the signed document, Tehran limited its developments in the field of nuclear energy and atomic weapons in exchange for lifting sanctions by the US, EU and UN Security Council.

  • Donald Trump

  • Reuters

  • © Carlos Barria

The European Union then openly opposed Trump's decision to withdraw from the deal and announced that Brussels would continue to comply with the terms of the JCPOA.

Another area that caused tensions in EU-US relations was cooperation within NATO.

Under Trump, Washington has consistently criticized EU countries for not spending enough on defense.

In addition, under the 45th US President, Washington and Brussels began to impose trade duties on each other.

So, in 2018, the White House announced the introduction of tariffs on imports of aluminum and steel from Europe, Canada and Mexico.

Brussels responded with its own restrictions.

At the same time, the Minister of Economy and Finance of France Bruno Le Maire then stated that a trade war had actually begun between the United States and the European Union.

"Everyone in the G20 understands that a trade war is a reality and that there is a risk to global growth," Le Maire quoted Reuters as saying.

Disagreements between the United States and Europe were also observed in the issue of Washington's denunciation of such important security agreements as the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty) and the Open Skies Treaty. 

"You won't be able to restart the relationship"

According to experts, the changes that have occurred in relations between Europe and the United States over the past four years cannot be explained only by the "Trump factor."

Analysts note that this transformation has deep reasons, which means that in the foreseeable future the situation will not change, regardless of who leads the United States.

“America’s position on Iran is unlikely to change much.

Most likely, the United States will continue to impose certain restrictions on European companies that are interested in cooperation with Tehran or Moscow.

Biden is likely to continue the tough line with China, and the PRC is an important partner for the EU.

All this suggests that it will not be possible to completely restart relations between the US and the EU in four years, "Nikita Danyuk, deputy director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of the RUDN University, a member of the RF OP, said in an interview with RT.

  • Joe Biden at the Democratic Party Gala

  • AFP

  • © Win McNamee / POOL

The political scientist noted that the EU had voices in support of a more independent policy from the United States before.

Trump's actions have only reinforced these sentiments.

“Many European countries, back in the days of Barack Obama, said that it was necessary to get rid of the dictates of the USA and pursue sovereign foreign and domestic policies.

But this trend was really launched by Trump.

And it seems to me that it will continue, ”says Danyuk.

In turn, Boris Mezhuev, associate professor of the Faculty of Philosophy at Moscow State University, believes that Europe is afraid of a possible return to Trump's policy in the future.

“They believe there has been a relapse into American nationalism under Trump.

And for them this danger has not been overcome, given that the United States has split almost equally, and it remains to be seen what will happen after Biden.

They do not believe that America will be able to restructure itself and become exactly the same member of the Euro-Atlantic community as France, Germany or even Great Britain.

Europe, as it were, makes it clear that although it welcomes the change of administration, it does not believe that it eliminates all the problems, ”the analyst said in an interview with RT.

At the same time, experts emphasize that in practice it will be very difficult for the European Union to achieve genuine independence.

“Borrell, Macron and Merkel are constantly saying that Europe needs to be more independent.

But they have yet to achieve this.

In particular, Washington will continue to play a coordinating role in the military-political sphere.

There can be no talk of any common European army.

Under Biden, rhetoric and tonality may change, but Europe's dependence will not disappear anywhere, ”Danyuk said.

Boris Mezhuev adheres to a similar point of view.

“This is a rate hike for future negotiations with the Americans.

It would be naive to expect that the EU will really acquire a new quality as an independent interstate entity, ”concluded Mezhuev.