China News Service, June 7th The New York Times published a signed article on the 6th, expounding the problems of repairing US-European relations and possible difficulties.
The article stated that US President Biden’s participation in the G7 summit and other itineraries demonstrated the “renewed commitment” of the United States to its European allies and its “not unconditional love, but beneficial friends”. There is a conflict between Europe and the United States. The series of cracks and differences may not heal soon.
Data map: US President Biden.
[Scars are hard to heal. Will Europe handle the US request carefully? 】
According to the schedule previously released by the White House, Biden will set off for Europe on the 9th Eastern Time, starting his first visit during his tenure.
After meeting with British Prime Minister Johnson on the 10th, Biden will attend the G7 summit in the UK from the 11th to the 13th, and travel to Brussels, Belgium, from the 14th to the 15th, to participate in the NATO summit and the US-EU summit.
In addition, on the 16th, Biden will travel to Geneva, Switzerland to hold a bilateral meeting with Russian President Putin.
The article pointed out that when former US President Trump was in office, he cheered for Britain's "Brexit", believed that NATO was "outdated", and refused to explicitly support NATO's basic common defense principles.
All this has left "traumas" in Europe.
Today, Biden has become the President of the United States. He claimed to regard Europe as an ally and NATO as an important factor in Western security. However, some experts believe that the painful experience of dealings between Europe and the previous US administration will not heal soon. Scars.
The article stated that Europe has just witnessed how the US foreign policy for 75 years "disappeared overnight" with the change of the presidency.
"Don't underestimate the impact on the (EU) during the Trump administration," said Rosa Balfour, head of Europe at the Carnegie Foundation. "With the shadow of Trump's return, the EU will be left out again. Therefore, , The EU is more cautious in accepting the request of the United States."
Thomas Klein-Brockhoff, vice president of the German Marshall Foundation, said that they knew that Biden’s policy would be cautiously attached to the price tag.
They are not sure how Biden’s commitment to “middle-class foreign policy” differs from Trump’s “America First” policy.
Europe is worried that this situation will happen again-America has changed, and Biden is an "interlude" between more populist and nationalist presidents.
Data map: Russian President Putin.
[Official: The United States is not "unconditional love" for Europe, but out of interest]
Europe also knows that the election clock is ticking, Germany will elect a new Chancellor to succeed Merkel, France will also hold a presidential election, and the US midterm elections are only 17 months left, which may limit Biden's room for maneuver.
Nevertheless, the article pointed out that there are opinions that Biden’s visit to NATO on June 14 and then a brief summit in the European Union after attending the British Group of 7 will be more than symbolic.
Yana Prelin, an official of the European Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin, said, “Biden also wants to see value for money, and we need to show tangible results. This is not unconditional love, but a friend of interest.”
François Heysburg, a French defense analyst and special adviser to the Paris Strategic Research Foundation, believes that “international affairs is not Biden’s top priority, but his basic positioning is to “let us re-be friends and re-establish our allies.” Comity and civilization.’” But at the same time, he said that reviewing the European policy must ultimately “become a policy”.
Data map: French President Macron.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Yang
[How many disputes are there between the United States, Europe, and NATO? 】
According to reports, the meeting between Biden and NATO and EU leaders will discuss many important issues.
Among them, the United States and Europe have the same interests, but there are also many differences.
According to reports, the NATO summit meeting will be very short. After the opening ceremony, there will be a 2.5-hour meeting, and each of the 30 leaders will only have five minutes to speak.
They will discuss the issue of the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, and study how to reshape NATO's strategic concept to deal with challenges in the fields of cyber warfare, artificial intelligence, anti-missile defense, "emerging disruptive technologies" and many other issues.
The article stated how NATO will adapt to the EU’s desire for “strategic autonomy”, while encouraging the EU to avoid “duplicate labor” with NATO in terms of military spending and efficiency, and how to make NATO a “more politically minded institution”. Another matter.
NATO's change may be to allow key officials of member states, such as national security advisers and political officials, to open new meetings, as French President Macron requested.
According to another report, Macron previously severely criticized NATO for "brain death" and refused to apologize, saying this was a "wake-up call" for NATO.
The next day, on June 15th, local time, the US-Europe summit will be held. Biden plans to meet with European Council President Michel and European Commission President von der Lein.
An "exception" among NATO member states is Turkey, which has inconsistent relations with European countries Greece and Cyprus. Cyprus has rejected most of NATO's mediation.
In addition, there are also questions about tariffs and trade disputes caused by Airbus and Boeing, as well as steel and aluminum; as well as new questions, how to implement a new global minimum enterprise in accordance with an important agreement reached by the finance ministers of the Group of Seven on June 5 tax rate.
Data map: On September 13, 2017 local time, NATO multinational soldiers participated in a joint shooting competition in Rukla, Lithuania.
The picture shows American soldiers participating in the competition.
[Why is Europe “angry and embarrassed” towards the United States? 】
The article also pointed out that there are many cautious statements regarding the development trend of US-EU relations during and after Biden's European visit.
Prielin, an official of the European Commission for Foreign Relations, said that some German officials believed that Biden had unilaterally made the withdrawal of all US troops before September 11, 2021, in accordance with the previous model, that is, the model of the United States at the head and allies follow. Out of Afghanistan’s decision.
More than that, European leaders are "angry and embarrassed" about Biden's decision to support the abandonment of the intellectual property rights of the COVID-19 new crown vaccine.
This move by the United States was carried out without informing its allies, let alone negotiations.
In addition, the article analyzes that Europeans do not regard China as a "peer competitor" like Washington, and in terms of trade and energy, Europe is still more dependent on China and Russia than the United States.
Some people think that Biden's definition of competing with a big country like China is too "black and white."
Natalie Tocci, director of the Italian Institute of International Affairs, said: Biden "before the summit with Putin, it is important to establish contact with allies, and it is not only symbolic."
Torch pointed out that “Europeans deceive themselves and think that things can return to the way they were.” She said that Europeans need to step up their efforts to cooperate with the Biden government to reach agreements on key issues such as climate, vaccines, and trade, “and then form more Extensive global multilateral agreement."