The 2020 U.S. presidential election will address many important issues.
If the US presidential candidate from the Democratic Party Joe Biden wins the US presidential elections, he will face a completely different “political landscape” in the international arena, because the current situation in the world is very different from that which was during his vice presidency, writes The New York Times .
President of the United States Donald Trump “destabilized” America’s foreign policy with other countries and effectively abandoned his own role as a mediator in international relations.
Thus, the EU is forced to learn to “navigate the world on its own,” while simultaneously solving “uncomfortable relations with the United States.”
The current US presidential election will resolve many important issues.
If Donald Trump wins again, he will be “tempted” to continue “isolating the United States” and make decisions on foreign policy issues unilaterally.
As a consequence, NATO runs the risk of completely losing its influence.
However, if Joe Biden becomes president of the United States, it is hoped that the Biden administration will bring America back into multilateralism. And Europe, in turn, could also become a more active “international player”.
The US presidential election is taking place during a “particularly dangerous situation” for Europe.
The neighboring territories of the EU are “engulfed in flames of danger.”
We are talking about the unstable situation in the Mediterranean, the dispute with Britain over Brexit about the “instability” of Russia, not to mention the Balkans, Libya or the countries of West Africa south of the Sahara – Europe is “surrounded by crises.”
What is new for the EU leaders is that Europe should independently try to resolve international conflicts, because the US has chosen a “passive position”.
The Europeans are trying to cope with these “crises” as a united bloc led by Germany, which has assumed the leadership role of the European Union.
The evolution of the Group of Seven countries during the Trump presidency reflects the changes that have come in US relations with allies.
Trump proposed to postpone the summit and even invite Russia to participate in it.
But Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his British counterpart Boris Johnson made it clear that they would not accept Russia’s return to the “club.”
The reality is that the G7 leaders simply want to avoid controversy, because “creating a friendly photo” at the US summit against the backdrop of the American elections and a clear deterioration in relations between China and the United States could be interpreted as an “allied front against China.”
US isolation is also actively demonstrated at the UN, China, in turn, “fills the void.”
Three years ago, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that “Europeans must take their own destiny into their own hands,” but by then her words had not provoked any active action.
However, the coronavirus pandemic has become a kind of “catalyst” in this situation.
The “coronavirus crisis” has forced Europeans to become more active in the need to take responsibility for their own future.
Europe’s “greater determination” in the international political arena could make the European Union less dependent on China, and “prepare European governments for the potential re-election of Donald Trump.”
However, if Joe Biden becomes president, it is likely that he will treat the EU as a true partner in international relations, as a result of which the United States and Europe will work together to ensure common values, The New York Times concludes.
