(CN) — In his first speech to European allies, President Joe Biden on Friday tried to dispel the cloud of uncertainty that descended during the Trump administration over NATO and transatlantic alliances.
Biden's speech at a virtual edition of the annual Munich Security Conference came amid a flurry of executive orders and actions by the White House to reverse decisions by the Trump administration that alarmed European leaders.
On Friday, the U.S. formally rejoined the Paris agreement on climate change and a day earlier reentered talks on a nuclear deal with Iran. Also, Biden has canceled a troop drawdown in Germany and even said more troops could be stationed there. American and European diplomats also said they are setting up a council to discuss developing common standards for the regulation of the internet and emerging technologies.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Bavarian summit was held online. The high-profile event typically takes place in the five-star Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich, Germany. The conference, which began in the 1960s, is billed as a “family reunion” where Western leaders can talk frankly about the problems facing the world. Foreign policy leaders from around the world have attended conferences in the past too, including those from China, Russia and the Middle East, though not this time.
During his long political career, Biden has been a frequent visitor to the conference and in 2019 he made a speech as a former vice president – and Democratic presidential hopeful – in which he promised the U.S. would return to being a strong European ally despite Trump.
“I said at that time, 'We will be back,'” Biden said via a video link Friday. “I am a man of my word: America is back.”
Biden said he wanted to send a clear message to the world that his administration intends to re-engage in world affairs and he said reinvigorating U.S.-Europe relations is a cornerstone to his strategy.
“The transatlantic alliance is back and we are not looking backward, we are looking forward together,” he said.
Coming after four years of Trump's deeply divisive “America First” policy, Biden found himself having to commit to the most basic principles of the NATO alliance, such as the core tenet of mutual defense, spelled out in Article 5 of the treaty.
Under Trump, that commitment began to be questioned not only in Washington but also in European capitals. In November 2019, French President Emmanuel Macron even said NATO was suffering from “brain death.” Trump shot back and called Macron's comment “brain dead.”
“We'll keep faith with Article 5,” Biden said. “It's a guarantee. An attack on one is an attack on all.”
Biden seemed to court Europe on many fronts: Unlike Trump, he made only oblique references to a long-standing U.S. demand that Europeans spend more on defense and praised Europe's “growing investment” on its militaries. The Trump administration relentlessly faulted Europeans for not meeting a NATO goal that each member spend at least 2% of gross domestic product on defense.
Biden also said his White House would consult with European allies. Trump angered European leaders with his unilateral and bullish attitude that took little consideration of European interests, such as withdrawing U.S. troops from Kurdish-held areas of Syria and dropping out of a nuclear deal meant to stop Iran's nuclear weapons program in exchange for more commerce.
“I know the past few years have strained and tested our transatlantic relationship,” Biden said. “But the United States is determined – determined – to reengage with Europe, to consult with you to earn back our position of trusted leadership.”
Despite striking a tone of friendship, sharp policy differences that were harshly exposed in the past four years – but which were emerging even before Trump came into office – seem set to remain problematic. The most glaring one is over China.
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