This week, representatives of the G7 countries will meet in Geneva for a summit that will differ from previous ones.
The summit, which runs from June 11-13, will mark the first face-to-face meeting of G7 leaders with Biden since his inauguration as US President, and will mark the start of Biden’s European tour. Ahead of the summit, the US President issued a statement in which he promised to confirm the fact of a “special relationship” with Britain during his meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
EU leaders say they are “happy” with Biden’s arrival, but according to some reports, they take different positions on a variety of issues. Some EU officials complained that they were not warned of Biden’s decision to completely withdraw troops from Afghanistan by 9/11.
One EU official told Politico that it “doesn’t help” and that even four months after his inauguration, the 78-year-old US president has not yet appointed an American ambassador to the European Union. All this only reinforced the feeling of some European countries that the EU needs to demonstrate “strategic independence” from NATO.
According to Washington, after the G7 summit, Biden will travel to Brussels, where he will meet with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The culmination of Biden’s European trip will be his personal meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Switzerland. Biden’s decision is rumored to have angered Brussels.
The EU official mentioned above added that the bloc did not feel obligated to communicate with the White House before it announced the introduction of measures against Belarus.
“They did not inform us that they were going to announce a summit with Putin,” he said.
“Why should we talk to them before reacting to events that happen at our borders?”
Another senior official said these differences are the reason why Europe should go its own way.
“It is important for us to cooperate, to coordinate our actions with partners who share our positions,” the official said.
“The transatlantic relationship, of course, must include the United States and other countries. However, if we talk about our priorities, it is equally important to have our own vision of Europe in the short, medium and long term”.
Biden will arrive in the UK hours after EU and UK officials meet in London to discuss the Northern Ireland Protocol situation.
One EU diplomat told the Financial Times: “Biden can help put this process back on track.”
“There is no mystery that Biden wants this issue to be resolved.”
According to a White House National Security Council official, the Biden administration hopes that the United Kingdom and the European Union “prioritize political and economic stability in Northern Ireland.”
European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic and Lord David Frost, head of the Brexit negotiating team, are due to meet on June 9 to discuss differences that are holding back progress. According to EU officials, Shefchovic is extremely unhappy that the United Kingdom has not yet begun to build the infrastructure to carry out physical checks on goods entering Northern Ireland.
However, a source at 10 Downing Street denied the EU accusations, saying that Lord Frost had prepared more than a dozen documents with possible solutions.
Callum Hor, Daily Express
Translation by Inosmi