Europeans see it as a continuation of Trump
Joe Biden and Europe are going in different directions
Biden does not care much about the opinions of Europeans, even if he appears to listen to them.
AFP
Biden's withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan showed his adherence to Trump's scenario.
AFP
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US President Joe Biden will certainly not lose any electoral votes over a recent European Union decision to resume travel restrictions on Americans, but that is a bad sign.
The move is as much about Biden's unwillingness to match Europe's opening up to American travelers this summer, as it is about the rising infection of America's Delta strain.
It did not take much time for Biden to respond to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and to others who asked him to lift the ban, but this may indicate another war with the anti-vaccine "Corona" in the United States.
The fact that Biden refused to take action reveals much about the European Union's lack of influence in America.
The actions are one
All of Biden's actions led Europeans to remind former President Donald Trump.
At the level of style, the difference between Biden and Trump is great, as Biden is sweet and joking with his fellow presidents, and he usually says the right things.
But being loved is not a good ally.
From this standpoint, the Europeans began to see that Biden is just a continuation of Trump.
Most strikingly, Biden does not care much about what Europeans think, even if he appears to listen to them.
Several European leaders have complained bitterly about the way Biden withdrew US forces from Afghanistan.
In some cases, most notably French President Emmanuel Macron, the criticism has gone unheeded.
France withdrew its forces from Afghanistan in 2014. Yet Afghanistan was the region where Biden demonstrated his adherence to the Trump scenario.
As for European countries with troops on Afghan soil, such as the United Kingdom, their leaders were angry that they had been sidelined and not consulted.
shock
This is not the first time that Biden has shocked Europe. In May, President Biden announced that he would request the suspension of vaccine patents at the World Trade Organization.
This was a bold and unexpected move, but it was stillborn.
And astonished the Europeans who worked to abolish it.
The result is that Biden was bribing the American left to give the impression that he was dealing with large pharmaceutical companies.
The big question is whether Biden thinks he needs Europe.
When Biden presented his priorities, they were the Corona pandemic, climate change, and China.
The gap between Europe and America over how to deal with China is one of the untold stories of Biden's eight months in the White House.
Neither the United States nor its European allies have been able to forge a common and convincing front on China, and it seems unlikely that they will agree.
The European chambers of commerce, especially the German ones, seem to be in a similar position to what American companies were in a few years ago, as they are making great efforts to enter the Chinese market.
And there isn't much European support for not engaging with China, except in narrow areas, where technologies are sensitive.
Biden's top priority is getting his domestic spending bills through and winning the midterm congressional elections.
Doing business with others can take a lot of effort and have negative repercussions domestically, so it will remain so as long as Biden is in power.
There will be no major climate initiatives, as the Biden administration has made a lot of investments in clean energy through President Biden's $3.5 trillion budget.
There will be no increase in taxes on oil, because that would violate his pledge not to raise taxes on the middle class.
The Climate Summit is not a cause for optimism
Accordingly, the climate summit that is scheduled to be hosted by the United Kingdom next November is not in a state of optimism.
Despite Biden's climate action, they are not enough to get the United States close to achieving his proposal to halve emissions by 2030. Biden's climate representative, John Kerry, travels around the world urging them to do things the United States ignores.
And we end up with the Corona pandemic, and it is known that both sides of the Atlantic have fallen short in realizing their pledges to provide a vaccine for all poor countries, and it seems that the two sides are not ready to achieve this in the near future.
Here we see that both American and European goals are well aligned.
It is clear that their lack of political will is also common to them.
In short: "America is back," regardless of what the practice will be.
Edward Luce ■ American columnist for the "Financial Times"
• Biden's climate representative, John Kerry, travels around the world urging them to do things the United States ignores.
• Biden's actions reminded the Europeans of former President Donald Trump. At the level of style, the difference between them is great, as Biden is a sweet co-worker, and he usually says the right things.
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