Barry Andrews: No time for charade on Europe-wide public health Government must engage seriously in Conference on the Future of Europe
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EU can’t return to “business as usual” as a broader discussion needs to take place about the global governance of the production, procurement and distribution of vaccines. Photograph: John MacDougall
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The Government has already adopted a curious position on the Conference on the Future of Europe which is due to start work in earnest on May 9th.
Pentagon pushes to partake in EU military mobility planning March 2 Military personnel unload M1 Abrams Fighting tanks, as U.S. military equipment arrives to the Port of Bremerhaven, Germany, for the Defender 2020 international military exercises in February 2020. (Patrik Stollarz/AFP via Getty Images) COLOGNE, Germany – U.S. defense officials want to be admitted to an internal European Union project aimed at easing the flow of military forces across the continent. The request aims to cement an American role in tackling a key problem here, which officials from both sides of the Atlantic have traditionally worked through NATO: cutting through the red tape of cross-border logistics and putting in place transportation infrastructure capable of shipping a sizable fighting force to points east.
James Jay Carafano is a leading expert in national security and foreign policy challenges. The U.S. may speak more softly, but it won’t stop pressing the case for burden-sharing. Every modern president has raised the issue with NATO allies. Biden will be no different. Teka77/Getty Images
Key Takeaways
Though there are many questions about the future direction of President Biden’s foreign policy, the U.S. role in NATO is not among them.
Expect the United States to continue to prod NATO into being better prepared for providing collective security in an era of great power competition.
What Will Joe Biden’s NATO Look Like?
Expect the United States to continue to prod NATO into being better prepared for providing collective security in an era of great power competition.
Though there are many questions about the future direction of President Biden’s foreign policy, the U.S. role in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is not among them. America’s participation in the alliance is the cornerstone of the common defense of the transatlantic community. That isn’t likely to change. Meanwhile, expect the United States to continue to prod NATO into being better prepared for providing collective security in an era of great power competition. It’s a worthy agenda, and there are some important must-do items on the list.
The competition and rivalry in the Transatlantic relations have become too costly to continue. Biden’s administration means a new opportunity for the EU to rebuild its ties with the United States and reverse the tide of rising illiberalism and authoritarian rule globally, particularly in the EU’s neighbourhood.
The Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries might positively contribute to the restarting relationship and bring their know-how and experience in working with Eastern Partnership and Western Balkans.
The declared priorities of establishing an alliance of world democracies, fighting foreign corruption and interference, and working on democratisation and human rights can make a difference in both regions and bring concrete benefits to the bilateral relations.