Joe Biden to double down on transatlantic ties on his visit to Europe

The overarching theme of US president Joe Biden's trip this week will be western unity, and he and European allies will be doubling down to send this message to Moscow. Picture: Patrick Semansky/AP

The importance of the transatlantic alliance will be showcased again this week when Joe Biden makes only his third big overseas trip as US president with Europe yet again the destination following his visits there last summer and autumn.

While this trip will be dominated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there will be a wider renewal of transatlantic ties after the turmoil of the Trump presidency. 

The goal of the meetings is simple: Presenting the strongest, unified front to Moscow, while putting aside the division and rancour of the Trump era which coincided with significant UK-EU Brexit-related tensions.

Biden has already made progress in his first year with this agenda, including with the United States and EU ending their long-running rift over subsidies to Boeing and Airbus with the suspension of billions in punitive tariffs. 

UK prime minister Boris Johnson and US president Joe Biden also last year signed a new Atlantic Charter, following the original treaty signed in 1941 by Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt, in a symbolic move that saw the two sides committed to cooperation on issues including climate change, security and the post-pandemic recovery.

Building from this during the forthcoming multi-day trip, Biden will meet with Western leaders at an extraordinary Nato leadership summit in Brussels on Thursday.

He will also attend part of the European Council meeting of 27 national presidents and prime ministers in the same city on Thursday and Friday, where efforts to impose sanctions and further humanitarian efforts will be made.

US president Joe Biden and UK prime minister Boris Johnson last year signed a new Atlantic Charter in a symbolic move that saw the two sides committed to cooperation on issues including climate change, security and the post-pandemic recovery. Picture: PA

Outside of these summit formalities, there is a significant possibility that Biden will travel to Poland whose foreign minister Zbigniew Rau said last week that a presidential visit there is “very probable”. 

Part of the reason why Biden appears likely to expand his itinerary is pressure from many conservatives for him to be seen to do more, including a call from Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell for him to “go to countries like Poland, Romania, or Lithuania to meet with Nato eastern flank allies”.

Poland appears the most likely destination for Biden to visit not just because of the number of Ukrainian refugees it now has; there may be a need to smooth over an apparent disconnect between the United States and Poland over providing Ukraine with fighter jets too. 

Warsaw caught Washington by surprise last week with a proposal to provide Kyiv with its Soviet-era fighter jets which was rejected by the Pentagon for fear it would significantly escalate the war.

While many Republicans are calling for Biden to do more to support Ukraine, Biden is also conscious of an alternative, growing critique of him by Trump and some other Republicans who are much more sympathetic to Russia. 

Trump himself, remarkably, even called Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion plan “genius”, and has also criticised EU leaders during the crisis for “taking advantage” of the United States, including by not backing 100% the US boycott of Russian oil and gas.

While Trump’s charge here is correct that Europe has not instituted a Russian fossil fuel ban, it nonetheless neglects to highlight the much higher European dependency on these commodities than the United States.

He also has not highlighted the significant measures that the EU has taken in recent days to wean off the continent’s vulnerability to Russian energy supplies.

What this showcases is the contrasting approaches of Biden and Trump — who remains the favourite to win the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.

 The billionaire businessman famously declared during his presidency that "I think the EU is a foe, with what they do to us [the United States]” and called for more “Brexits” within Europe.

The contrast with the approach of Biden, and indeed much of US policy since the start of the EU integration process is significant. 

The core US view since the early phase of the Cold War has — by and large — been that a united Europe would make future wars in the continent less likely; create a stronger partner for the United States in meeting the challenges posed by the Soviet Union and then-Russia, and offer a more vibrant market for building transatlantic prosperity.

Former president Donald Trump called Putin’s Ukraine invasion plan 'genius', and he has also criticised EU leaders during the crisis for 'taking advantage' of the United States. Picture: John Raoux/AP

Prior to Trump, the George W Bush administration came closest to questioning the value of European integration. 

For instance, the controversy over the Iraq conflict saw Washington querying the benefits of EU collaboration in the security and defence arena. 

On the eve of the Iraq War in 2003, then-defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld even drew a distinction between “old” and “new Europe” with the latter (mainly Eastern Europe) perceived as more favourable to US interests.

While US support for EU nations is therefore not as unqualified as during the Cold War, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has put these concerns onto the backburner. 

The overarching theme of this week’s trip will be western unity, and Biden and European allies will be doubling down to send this message to Moscow.

• Andrew Hammond is an Associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics