For Europe, the US is no longer reliable and Biden looks more and more like Trump

As might be expected, the military agreement between the US, Great Britain and Australia has caused deep resentment in Europe. This is a real affront to Brussels, kept in the dark about the terms of the alliance, if it is part of the relationship within the so-called Western world. The greatest irritation is recorded in France, which, due to a clause in the agreement, which obliges Canberra to purchase American atomic-powered submarines, loses a substantial order with Australia for the supply of diesel-powered submarines. A very important detail is that this order was confirmed again on 31 August last by a videoconference meeting between the military leaders of the two states, with a joint signature, which did not foreshadow any rethinking, however, never officially communicated. But beyond the legitimate French resentment, the European Union suffers an evident diplomatic wrong, which threatens to have serious consequences in the relationship with the United States, held to be the real culprits for the provocation. The greatest disappointment is represented by President Biden, who started with a profoundly different attitude from his predecessor, but who turned out, in fact, even worse towards his European allies: first the unscheduled withdrawal from Afghanistan and now the creation of an alliance that leaves the European Union out without any explanation; or rather the explanation could be the consideration that Europe is now a secondary theater compared to Asia, the true focal point of current American interests. After all, already with Obama this supremacy of Asian centrality over the old continent was beginning to take shape, Trump has continued it and Biden further strengthens it. Furthermore, Biden seems to add to himself the desire to shift the main US attention towards Asia, typical of Obama, with Trump’s desire to put the United States in front of everything: this is the only way to explain the diplomatic rudeness of the White House, where London and Canberra are only supporting subordinates. However, there is also the need to take into account the European Union’s desire for ever greater autonomy from its main ally, a factor, however, amply justified, as this story demonstrates. A further element may have been represented by the position of the European Union, which while remaining faithfully in the Western camp, has sought a balance between Beijing and Washington, to avoid a too dangerous degeneration of relations between the two superpowers. At this point, the European intent seems to have failed, with China openly accusing the US, Great Britain and Australia of opening a new season of increasing armaments with the Chinese country as its objective. The crux of the matter now is the poor level of relations between Washington and Brussels, which, despite the absence of official statements, seems even lower than when Trump was president; certainly Biden enjoys a caution, which his predecessor did not benefit, perhaps due to the hope of a tangible sign of repentance, but if this is the European tactic, the hopes seem vain: the path taken by the White House points to a marginal Europe as an element geostrategic, a factor that could also have repercussions on commercial relations. Washington has also filled the void created by Brexit and has operated a tactic capable of linking London more closely with the opposite side of the ocean; this detail should not be underestimated because it could exacerbate relations between the United Kingdom, always looking for expedients favorable to itself in the game of post-Brexit agreements, and Europe. This is how the scenario that Trump had pursued without being able to materialize came about, now it will be necessary to see the ability of the Union to react not to be overshadowed and to conquer the position that it has long sought in the international field and which is frustrated with this agreement. , which ultimately sees her as a loser and betrayed, but in the same field as her: the Western one. The defeat, that is, is even heavier because it does not come from an opponent, which could have been Russia or China itself, but from the country, which despite everything, was considered the greatest ally. Caution and prudence must be at the basis of the next moves of European diplomacy, but with the right distrust of unreliable and even treacherous allies. The political and military autonomy of Europe is increasingly important, now on a par with economic strength, above all to manage opponents who have a lot in common and are not politically distant like China and Russia.

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