Recent poll by German Marshall Fund and Bertelesmann Foundation said European perception of America hasn’t changed much since 78-year-old President Joe Biden took over from 74-year-old President Donald Trump. “The first three months of the Biden administration have not affected French and German views of U.S. influence in the world,” the study found. When Biden said that American was back as the leader of the Free World Feb. 4, 62-yyear-old European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union [EU] could lead its own affairs. Von der Leyen was aware Biden was making disparaging comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, wanting to distance the EU from U.S. foreign policy. Biden proceeded to alienate China at an Anchorage-based summit March 18, accusing Beijing of genocide against Muslim Uyghurs.
If the EU allows Biden to lead the “Free World,” the Free World could wind up not so free as it once was. Biden didn’t like that 67-year-old German Chancellor Angela Merkel refused to stop its joint building project with Russia on the Nordstream 2 Pipeline, carrying natural gas from Russia to Germany. Merkel refused to scuttle the $12 billion pipeline at Biden’s request, pressing ahead with Germany’s special relationship with the Kremlin. Germany buys about 40% of its natural gas and petroleum from Russia, making the two countries joined at the hip. Merkel doesn’t want to hear Biden calling Putin March 17 a “soulless killer,” knowing the business relationship with the Kremlin. Germany’s dependence on Russian energy isn’t about to change anytime soon Biden’s been trying to divide Europe by comparing himself to Trump, who would make demands for more cash on NATO partners.
EU officials, led by von der Leyean and 45-year-old European Council President Charles Michel have watched carefully as Biden has alienated Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Brussels-based EU is not looking for more confrontation with the Russian Federation, despite slapping Moscow with new sanctions March 2, primarily over it’s treatment of 44-year-old Russian dissident Alexi Navalny. Navalny claims he was poisoned by the Kremlin, left for dead, air lifted to Germany, only to return to Moscow Jan. 14 to face criminal charges. Biden and his Secretary of State Tony Blinken have flat out demanded that Putin release Navalny from prison. Biden and Putin are due to meet in Geneva June 16 for a summit that could make-or-break U.S.-Russian relations, something hitting a low-point since taking over from Trump. Trump had no problem getting along with Putin.
Recent polls indicate that only 51% of Germans see the U.S. as a reliable partner, compared with 60% for France, 67% for the U.K. and 76% for Poland. Germany’s problem with the U.S. stems from the fact the U.S. stations some 35,124 troops in Germany since the end of WW II. Trump chafed with Merkel over the Nordstream 2 Pipeline, preferring that German buy its natural gas from the U.S. There’s always a mixed relationship between Germany and the U.S. because of the U.S. coming to Germany’s aid to reconstruct the country after WW II. Merkel and Trump locked horns especially on Germany’s financial commitment to NATO, something Trump always complained about. But regardless of the how the EU felt about Trump, they’re not about to let Biden suck NATO into a war with the Russian Federation because of human rights or any other thing.
When Biden meets with Geneva March 16, there are already signs that he’s going to act too aggressively with the Russian leader. Biden and his Secretary of State Tony Blinken have alienated Russia and China to the point both countries are hardly talking to the U.S. EU officials have no interest in Biden’s beef with Russia, despite joining in on economic sanctions March 2. Biden had to walk back in claim to unconditionally support Ukraine, when he knows that NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stotenberg wants no part of Ukraine in the Transatlantic partnership. Ukraine’s 43-year-old President Voldymyr Zelensky showed his annoyance with Biden’s approach with Russia, concerned that he’ll abandon commitments to Ukraine. Any mention of Ukraine’s Russian-speaking Donabass region at the June 16 Geneva summit would be a deal breaker for Putin, pushing U.S.-Russian relations to the brink.
When Biden crosses the pond, he’s not going to get a hero’s welcome for defeating Trump. While Biden played up divisions with Trump in the 2020 campaign, Trump was extremely well-liked in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Biden’s attempt to say “America’s back” won’t get a strong reaction from the EU, since Brussels isn’t wiling to fight Biden’s battles with Moscow and Beijing. Whether admitted to or not, Biden’s age is a factor in steering EU officials away from following old clichés like America’s the “leader of the Free World.” No one in the EU wants to be led by anyone, feeling perfectly capable of managing their own foreign policy with Russia and China. Whatever the differences with Russia and China, the EU wants sold business ties with both countries and won’t allow differences in human rights to interfere with joint business and regional security ties.
