By : Yann| Keywords : EU-US-Biden
French.china.org.cn | Updated on 21-01-2021-
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Senior European Union (EU) officials on Wednesday welcomed the assumption of office of the new United States administration, expressing their willingness to mend the broken partnership and outlining their expectations for renewed transatlantic cooperation.
“Today is a very special day. I am ready to present to President Joe Biden our proposals for a new transatlantic agenda,” tweeted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
She posted a video online, in which she addressed the European Parliament early Wednesday, saying that “there is no greater need for short-term global cooperation than to tackle the pandemic “, which has been so devastating on both sides of the Atlantic.
Charles Michel, President of the European Council, appeared alongside Ms von der Leyen during the plenary session of the European Parliament. “Today we have the opportunity to revitalize our transatlantic relationship, which has suffered greatly over the past four years,” he said.
Mr. Michel called on both parties to work on five priorities: boosting multilateral cooperation, fighting COVID-19, tackling climate change, rebuilding economies while promoting digital transformation and joining forces on security and peace.
He invited Mr Biden to participate in an extraordinary session of the European Council in Brussels. Without giving the exact timetable, he suggested that it could take place in parallel with a NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in November 2020 that he would invite Mr. Biden to attend the next NATO summit scheduled for 2021.
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