BRUSSELS, Jan 28, 2021 (AFP) – The top EU and US diplomats discussed on
Thursday on how to “repair” their ties under President Joe Biden as Brussels
and Washington prepare to work in concert on a range of issues.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Biden’s newly installed Secretary
of State Antony Blinken emphasised that transatlantic relations are entering
a new chapter now that Donald Trump is gone — though accounts released of
their call did not mention the former US president by name.
The two discussed “ways to repair, revitalise, and raise the level of
ambition in the US-EU relationship”, with Blinken thanking Borrell for “the
EU’s leadership in recent years,” according to a State Department statement.
“Renewing the EU-US strategic partnership” was the headline message passed,
according to the European Commission’s statement.
It added that Borrell invited Blinken to attend a meeting of EU foreign
ministers “at the earliest opportunity”.
The EU emphasised an exchange on “strengthening multilateralism and the
rules-based global system” and hailed the United States’ return to the Paris
climate accord and the World Health Organization.
– China and Turkey discussed –
The US put the stress on Washington’s “desire to work with the EU and
member states to address shared challenges including Covid-19, climate
change, transatlantic data flows and economic cooperation”.
In terms of “shared challenges,” the EU said “a number of foreign policy
and security policy priorities” were discussed.
The US was more specific, its statement talking about “continued US-EU
cooperation on issues related to China”.
That hinted at Biden’s aim to counter China’s expansion and keep up some of
his predecessor’s muscular stance against Beijing. The EU, on the other hand,
is carving out its own trading relationship with China, which it nonetheless
regards as a rival to be wary of.
The White House issued a separate statement of another call between Biden’s
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Bjoern Seibert, the head of
cabinet of European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.
That statement was nearly word-for-word the same as the State Department
one for Blinken — but as well as mentioning US-EU cooperation on China it
added another country of “mutual concern”; Turkey.
Turkey, a NATO ally that sits outside the EU’s southeastern flank, has been
problematic to both Washington and Brussels recently, buying a Russian anti-
aircraft missile system and creating waves in the Mediterranean by sending
ships into waters claimed by Greece.
As those various statements were being released, von der Leyen and NATO
chief Jens Stoltenberg were having a working dinner together in Brussels.
There was no immediate account of what they talked about, but coordination
between the Commission and NATO would be needed in order to jointly prepare a
visit by Blinken, itself a possible precursor of a visit by Biden.