December 10, 2020
Noah BarkinManaging Editor at Rhodium Group
It depends which Europe we are talking about. It was positive to see the European Commission publish a blueprint for transatlantic cooperation which touched on many issues related to China. But would that document receive an unqualified endorsement from Berlin and Paris, let alone from Budapest and Athens? That’s not entirely clear.
What we do have in European capitals is a readiness to sit down at the table with the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to discuss China. Beijing’s image has taken a serious hit in Europe due to its aggressive coronavirus pandemic diplomacy, its crackdown in Hong Kong, its repression in Xinjiang, and its recent trade war with Australia.
It is time for a new transatlantic alliance. Joe Biden’s victory opens the way for the most important values community in history to be reinvented for a new century. Americans expect the European Union to grow up and take more responsibility for its security rather than going “back to normal” and being looked after by the United States.
The new EU-US agenda for global change proposed by HRVP Josep Borrell is a step in the right direction. As leaders meet at the European Council, they urgently need to seize the opportunity of transforming – rather than restoring – the transatlantic alliance. Offering President-elect Biden a new transatlantic bargain that appeals to both European and US interests will set this in motion.