Joe Biden’s visit to Europe: first meeting in Cornwall with Boris Johnson

Published on : 06/10/2021 – 10:17

Joe Biden, who arrived in England on Wednesday 9 June on his first trip abroad as President of the United States, meets Boris Johnson in Cornwall on Thursday at Carbis Bay, a small seaside resort in the south- west of England. This is also where a G7 summit is to be held from Friday to Sunday devoted in particular to the coronavirus pandemic and the climate crisis.

According to the White House, Joe Biden will announce the “historic” purchase by his country of 500 million doses of Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine against Covid-19 in order to donate them to 92 disadvantaged countries through the Covax device, an operation presented as the largest order and donation of vaccines made by a single country.

Joe Biden will also visit Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle on Sunday and then attend the NATO summit before another summit with the European Union. His long trip to Europe will culminate next Wednesday in Geneva with his meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Poutine.

“The United States is back!”

“The United States is back!” Said Joe Biden shortly after arriving in the United Kingdom, echoing the message he has been hammering out since taking office five months ago. “And democracies around the world are united to face the most difficult challenges.”

For the day of Thursday, London hopes the development of a new “Atlantic Charter” designed on the model of the Charter signed by Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt. The text must say that “while the world has changed since 1941, the values ​​remain the same” concerning the defense of democracy, collective security and international trade, Downing Street said.

The document “will also recognize more recent challenges, such as the need to address the threat of cyber attacks, to act urgently to combat climate change and protect biodiversity and, of course, to help the world. to put an end to the coronavirus pandemic and to recover from it “, it is specified.

A “special relationship”

The two leaders are also due to discuss a resumption of travel between the UK and the US after the pandemic as well as a future agreement allowing for better cooperation in the tech sector. The two countries are linked by what they traditionally call a “special relationship”, touted as such by generations of British leaders.

Boris Johnson, who dreams of a United Kingdom shining on the international scene after having slammed the door of the EU, prefers to avoid this term. “But that in no way detracts from the importance we attach to our relationship with the United States, which is our closest ally,” said his spokesperson.

For the White House, the expression remains valid. Joe Biden, proud of his Irish origins, “will affirm the lasting strength of the special relationship” before highlighting US priorities at the G7, including shared democratic values, climate change and recovery from the pandemic, according to his spokesperson Jen Psaki.

Tensions over Northern Ireland

Boris Johnson was the first European leader Joe Biden called after taking over from Donald Trump in January. Although the populist accents of “BoJo” have earned him comparisons with Donald Trump, who was full of praise for him, the conservative leader is much more in tune with the administration of Joe Biden on major international issues.

The two leaders display a common determination to tackle the climate crisis, and share similar positions on the challenges posed by China and Russia. A few days before the G7 summit, London supported the proposed minimum tax rate for companies championed by Joe Biden, with a better distribution of tax revenues from multinationals, in particular the digital giants.

However, major points of tension persist in Northern Ireland, with Washington resenting London’s attempts to reverse its trade commitments to the EU made under Brexit.

The White House has warned the British government that any snagging in the 1998 peace deal could jeopardize the success of a trade deal between the United States and the United Kingdom, so coveted by Boris Johnson.

According to the British daily The Times published Thursday, the highest American diplomat stationed in the United Kingdom, Yael Lempert, accused London of “stoking” by its attitude the tensions in Northern Ireland.

The EU for its part warned on Wednesday that it would not hesitate to adopt a firm response if London refused to implement the specific post-Brexit provisions in Northern Ireland, which is the source of great tensions in the British province. .

The so-called Good Friday agreement, obtained with the involvement of former US President Bill Clinton, put an end to violence between Republicans (mostly Catholics) and Unionists (mostly Protestants) which had killed some 3,500 people in 30 years. in Northern Ireland.

With AFP