Biden’s Atlanticism between Macron and Merkel
The real challenge for Biden in Munich is to be able to demonstrate that a return to the Atlanticism of the past is also in the interest of Europe, as well as that of the US. And the most awaited answer, as always decisive, will be that of Merkel. The article by Tino Oldani for Italy Today
The 57th edition of the Security Conference begins today in Munich, a summit in which the leaders of the Western world, every year, discuss foreign and military policy strategies. A prestigious event, which over the years has taken on an importance comparable to that of the World Economic Forum in Davos for global finance strategies. Participants, all streamed, include Joe Biden, Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron, Ursula von der Leyen, the NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, and the UN secretary, Antonio Guterres. Among the guests, the magnate Bill Gates and the director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The most awaited speech is that of the new US president, Joe Biden, who for the first time will speak publicly to NATO's European allies, in the lead Germany and France, after the first courtesy calls. The agenda does not include an intervention by Italy, probably because the times of the government crisis just ended did not allow it. The new premier, Mario Draghi, in his investiture speech , assured that his government "was born in the wake of our country's belonging, as a founding member, to the European Union, and as a protagonist of the Atlantic Alliance, in the wake of the great Western democracies, in defense of their inalienable principles and values ». Therefore, a profession of Atlanticism without ifs and buts, which some analysts have also interpreted as a tacit distancing from the pro-China impulses of the five stars and from the pro-Russian ones of Matteo Salvini. Also for this reason, the Munich Security Conference deserves attention, especially to take stock of the current state of Atlanticism, in various aspects in crisis.
According to some diplomatic sources, Biden will confirm that he wants to mend US-Europe relations, with friendly and cooperative relations, abandoning once and for all the conflictual line of Donald Trump, who for four years has repeatedly complained about the lack of commitment of European allies in contributing to military spending by NATO, accused of paying much less than 2% of their GDP every year, as agreed. Criticism that Trump has addressed several times in public to Angela Merkel's Germany, which in his opinion had, on the one hand, a short arm with NATO, while on the other hand he wanted to finance a military adversary, such as Italy, with the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Vladimir Putin's Russia.
With Biden, the attitude of the United States on contributions to NATO expenses seems destined to change radically, oriented towards greater patience on payments. The change of pace was anticipated last Wednesday by the new US defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, an African-American, retired four-star general, during the first web meeting with the defense ministers of NATO countries. "The United States intends to revitalize relations with the NATO alliance as the foundation for lasting transatlantic security," said Austin, who enjoys Biden's confidence. "We are ready to consult, decide together, act together". As for NATO contributions, he confirmed that the 2% commitment remains, but specified that "they are also measured on the basis of the way they are used, not only on the basis of their size". Words welcomed with great favor by all ministers connected in streaming.
It now remains to be seen how European leaders will respond to this opening. Macron has never hidden a deep disdain for the Atlantic alliance, so much so that on November 7, 2019, in an interview, he spoke of "Born in a state of brain death", accused the US of disengagement in the Middle East, and invited the European Union to a closer relationship with Russia, at the same time assuming the role of EU military power in the world balance. An invitation, in truth, remained a dead letter.
As for Germany, the points of friction with the US are less theoretical and presumptuous than the French ones, but much more concrete. While Biden intends to continue Trump's economic policy against China to stem its global influence, the German auto and engineering industries are so entrenched in China that they are an important factor in its development. Not only. On December 30, 2020, Merkel sponsored the signing of a mega trade agreement between the EU and China, rejecting Biden's call for a postponement pending his inauguration in the White House. Another point of friction with Washington is Berlin's policy towards Vladimir Putin's Russia. While in words she defends the Russian dissident Aleksey Navalny, in fact Merkel is doing everything to complete the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, opposed yesterday by Trump and frowned upon today by Biden as a source of funding for Putin.
All this badly fits in with Biden's international agenda, who has always been convinced that the Atlantic alliance is a fundamental support of the United States' world hegemony. Europe, for the new US president, is not only the main trading partner, but a strategic pivot to face global adversaries such as China, Russia and the Islamic countries. Hence the American intention to prevent Europe from opening too wide doors to China, which already elsewhere, as in many African countries, has proved very skilled in using commercial and financial relations as a wedge for its own hegemony.
Unfortunately, the four years of the Trump presidency have carved a political furrow between the two sides of the Atlantic. And the real challenge for Biden, in Munich, is to be able to demonstrate that a return to the Atlanticism of the past is also in the interest of Europe, as well as that of the US. And the most awaited answer, as always decisive, will be that of Merkel.
Article published on ItaliaOggi
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/latlantismo-di-biden-fra-macron-e-merkel/ on Fri, 19 Feb 2021 10:07:10 +0000.