Joe Biden’s relation with European political leaders
France and Germany are EU countries with significant influence in the fields of politics, economy and military, while the UK is a non-EU member country with significant influence in these fields. Therefore, I will take the heads of government of these three countries as representatives of European political leaders, and then analyze their relationship with the current president of the United States, Joseph Robinette Biden. I think the relationship between the political heads of any two countries shown in the news media is less as a personal relationship and more as a political relationship between each country they represent. So when I analyze the relationship between president Biden and the other political leader, I’m actually analyzing the political relationship between the United States and the other European country. French President Emmanuel Macron held his first phone conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden on February 24, 2021, Paris time. Macron and Biden agreed on some international issues. For example, according to the official report of the French embassy in the United States, during their talks, they talked about the idea of jointly dealing with COVID-19 and support the most vulnerable countries especially in the face of this pandemic. Besides, they expressed an agreement on the return of the United States to the Paris Agreement, as well as their desire to work together for peace and stability in the Middle East, especially on the Iranian nuclear issue and the situation in Lebanon. But even if Biden has said France is the United States’ oldest and most reliable ally and “extremely important partner”, the United States and France still disagree on some issues of interest. One example is the announcement on September 15, 2021 of a new trilateral security partnership between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, in which the United States and the United Kingdom will support the Australian Navy in building a nuclear submarine force. Australia subsequently announced that it was suspending the agreement to purchase 12 conventional submarines from France.
This issue directly caused France to angrily condemn the “stabbed in the back” and “lying” of these three allies, including the United States, and recalled the ambassador to the United States unprecedentedly.
Due to historical reasons, Germany has had close relations with the United States in economic and political aspects since World War II. Current German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and U.S. President Joe Biden met at the White House on February 7, 2022 to discuss issues related to Russia-Ukraine relations, the stability of voting rights in the western Balkans and COVID-19, climate change and other issues. Angela Dorothea Merkel, once Germany’s top political leader, has worked with four U.S. presidents and contributed to resolving a number of major crises, notably the 2008 financial crisis, the 2015 influx of immigrants and, more recently, the Covid-19 pandemic. Through the work of the U.S.-German Council and numerous polls, some experts have pointed out that Americans will see Germany as an important partner in climate change and sustainability, global health, strengthening democracy and security through NATO, and bridging the digital divide. On these and many other topics, Germany and the United States can not only cooperate at the federal level, but also learn from each other at the regional and local level. So I think the relationship between the German political leader and Biden will be close and important now and in the future.
Britain has been one of America’s closest allies since World War II and has maintained close cooperation with the United States. According to the “Daily Mail”, on the evening of January 23, 2021 local time, the newly elected US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had a 35-minute phone call, which made Johnson the first European leader to speak to Biden. After the 35-minute call, Prime Minister Johnson tweeted that it was great to speak with President Biden tonight, and I look forward to the deepening of the long-term alliance between our two countries, and that together we can push forward the new era of COVID-19, which is a green, sustainable recovery from the pandemic. On some of the world’s biggest issues, Biden and Johnson are in complete agreement. The UK and US positions are also remarkably aligned on national security issues, defence cooperation and intelligence sharing. Ben Rhodes, Obama’s former deputy national security adviser, noted, “There are so many common interests, so many common values, that when you sit down with the British and discuss big issues, you always find the point of departure and congruence. How you get to the end may vary, but like-mindedness is a good start for a Biden-Johnson relationship. They’re on the same page on most things.”
In general, the current US President Joe Biden has a moderate relationship with the political leaders of the three major European countries mentioned above, and they agree on most issues of fundamental interest. There is no doubt that this kind of relationship will help strengthen cooperation between the United States and European countries. Privately, however, Biden and these European political leaders may be less consistent in their mutual comments. President Biden, for example, once described British Prime Minister Johnson as a “physical and emotional remake” of Donald Trump, but Johnson has generously praised this former business tycoon who has entered the White House. “He made America great again, and his work on North Korea deserves a Nobel Peace Prize,” Johnson said.
By Tao Cheng
