In his invitation letter from the 27, the President of the European Council Charles Michel officially provided only “Brief exchange” on the “Preparations for the next EU-US institutional summit in mid-June”. In fact, at this organized summit “Face to face” in Brussels on May 24 and 25, all the subjects on the agenda – or almost – are linked to the first trip to Europe by US President Joe Biden.
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During this trip, which will be the occasion of a G7 in Cornwall (south-west of England) from June 11 to 13, and a NATO summit on June 14, Europeans have every interest to speak with one voice.
Eye on Moscow
Monday, May 24, a working dinner devoted to foreign policy was to focus on strained relations with Russia, before addressing health management and climate commitments the next day. The grievances against Moscow are brought by the former satellite states of the Soviet bloc.
Gathered by videoconference on May 10, at a summit called B9 (1), its members, joined online by Joe Biden and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, strongly condemned “Acts of sabotage perpetrated by Russia on the territory of the Alliance”, as well as “The escalation in the Black Sea, on the borders of Ukraine and in illegally annexed Crimea”. The joint statement also refers to the explosion of an ammunition depot in the Czech Republic for which Russia was accused at the end of April, leading to cross-expulsions of diplomats.
Joe Biden himself took sanctions against Russia in mid-April, accused of cyberattacks and interference in the US presidential election. But, after a tour in the Arctic last week, the head of the American diplomacy Antony Blinken showed signs of moderation towards Berlin, worried about its energy policy.
After letting the threat of action against the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany hang, the Biden administration has finally decided not to sanction the main company involved in the project. This decision prepares for a possible Biden-Putin meeting in June.
New international deal
Other subjects apparently remote from the transatlantic link must be tackled by the 27. Under the impetus of France, concerned about its interests in fisheries, the summit will be an opportunity to take stock of the relationship with the United Kingdom. United, since the entry into force of the post-Brexit agreement and the Northern Irish protocol.
Even before being elected, Joe Biden had promised that the trade link with the United Kingdom would be “Subject to compliance with the agreement and no return to a physical border, period”. Europeans must also react more clearly to the various suggestions of Joe Biden, whether it is the lifting of patents on vaccines against Covid-19, or the taxation of multinationals.
International news is finally adding to an already busy agenda. The EU was reflecting on Monday 24 May at « sanctions » against the regime of President Alexander Lukashenko, supported by his Russian counterpart Vladimir Poutine, while a Belarusian fighter intercepted on Sunday May 23 a plane aboard an opposition journalist.
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Concerning the Middle East too, the EU would like to be heard on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while Washington favors bilateral ties. But for now, the 27 are not unanimous. Hungary did not agree to sign the joint declaration on de-escalating violence in the Middle East last week, just as it refused to go further against China, or Russia.
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