Relations with the U.S. make the EU embarrassed (Observatory)

　　CNN recently reported that as the European Union agreed to send a team to observe Venezuela’s local elections scheduled for late November, it is facing the risk of ending relations with its most important allies next month.

Earlier this year, the EU no longer recognized Venezuelan opposition figure Guaido as the so-called "legitimate president," which caused the EU to part ways with the United States, which still recognizes Guaido.

　　Of course, the alliance between the United States and Europe will not be easily dismantled.

But as the US media said, this tension between the EU and the US is inevitable to some extent, because the EU is trying to expand its influence and show its image as a unique global power and defender of Western values. , Not just an extension of American influence.

　　In recent years, especially during the previous administration of the United States, under the influence of the "America First" policy, the differences between the United States and Europe in many areas such as diplomacy and trade have become increasingly apparent, and the rift in the transatlantic strategic alliance has continued to deepen.

The current discord between the United States and Europe surrounding the Venezuelan political situation is just the tip of the iceberg of the contradictions between the United States and Europe.

　　After the Biden administration came to power, it intends to repair the relationship between the United States and Europe, and has frequently released positive signals.

However, from the attitude towards the construction of the "Beixi-2" natural gas pipeline, to the timing of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, to the announcement of the establishment of the so-called "Trilateral Security Partnership" (AUKUS) by the United States, Britain and Australia. "Embarrassing things" and "troublesome things" have emerged one after another, and the "friendship boats" of the United States and Europe have suffered wave after wave.

　　In the face of an ally who is used to being a "global hegemon" and "domestic first" in everything, the EU increasingly sees that the United States is not a truly trustworthy and reliable friend.

To give a simple example, after Snowden broke out the "Prism" plan in 2013, the US president changed people several times, but the US government's secret monitoring of European politicians continued.

It is difficult for the United States' European allies not to feel chilly.

　　After the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan in August this year, the chaotic scenes that occurred at the Kabul Airport made the U.S. allies in Europe "cold in the back."

Although Biden tried his best to argue that there is a “fundamental difference” between Afghanistan and its allies, as the EU’s High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Borelli put it, the situation in Afghanistan has awakened Europe’s sense of crisis.

When the US allies are accustomed to the willful "go and go", all the EU can do is to develop military strength independent of the United States.

　　In fact, as early as 2017, German Chancellor Merkel said bluntly: Europe must take its destiny in its own hands, and the era of relying solely on the United States is in a sense over.

French President Macron even put forward the "NATO brain death" theory in 2019, and revisited the formation of a "European Army" to show that Europe does not want to rely on the aspirations of the United States.

The President of the European Council Charles Michel has also repeatedly called for the promotion of "strategic autonomy" in the EU.

　　However, the EU, which is pursuing "independence", cannot avoid "growth troubles."

At present, the EU still relies heavily on the United States on security issues, and it is difficult for it to have full autonomy in security matters.

On the one hand, it is difficult to change its "security dependence" on the United States, while at the same time it wants to achieve "strategic autonomy." This has led to the EU's often dilemma and vacillation in handling relations with the United States.

　　If you want to grow, you must step out of the "comfort zone" and overcome the "pain period."

The European "Modern Diplomacy" website recently published an article that the so-called "transatlantic partnership" seems more like a romance and nostalgia of the past, rather than a weather vane of the EU and the US's geostrategic interests and priorities.

The evolution of the international situation has made the EU and its member states more aware of the importance of enhancing strategic autonomy.

For the European Union, it is obviously more conducive to safeguarding its own interests to accelerate the integration process and strive for relative independence in diplomatic security than to continue to blindly follow the traditional practice of the United States.

　　Yan Yu