EU proposes a “new transatlantic agenda” to Biden

It is not possible to “go back to the exact same agenda as five years ago”, said the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

The European Union on Tuesday, November 10, suggested to the president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden, the adoption of a new transatlantic agenda, to turn a page marked by tensions with Donald Trump.

In a videoconference message to the ambassadors to the EU, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stressed that it is time to start a new chapter.

“It is time for a new transatlantic agenda,” Von der Leyen told diplomats.

The official stressed that the Western alliance built on cooperation between the United States and Europe still lasts, “based on shared values ​​and history”.

However, he also mentioned the impact Europe has felt under Trump, with tariffs and threats of a trade war, the US withdrawal from international agreements and organizations, and questions about the defense alliance.

For this reason, Von der Leyen said that relations cannot return to the way they used to, not even with the election of Joe Biden to the White House.

“Some shifts in priorities and perceptions are much deeper than those of a single politician or administration. And they won’t just disappear because of an election, ”he said.

“We can’t go back in time,” he said, and for the same reason it hasn’t been possible “to go back to the exact same program we had five years ago.”

A new agenda, he said, “should cover everything from safety to sustainability; from technological regulation to trade; from leveling the global economic ground to strengthening global institutions ”.

The German leader expressed confidence that Biden will deliver on his promise that the US will return to the Paris climate deal, which Trump has abandoned.

“Our goal must be to provide common leadership to address today’s global challenges, without feeling nostalgic for yesterday’s world,” he said.

Von der Leyen also referred to European attempts to regulate the performance of Internet giants, such as Google, Amazon or Facebook, an issue that had generated friction with Washington.

“It may not be that the business giants are benefiting enormously from our single market, but they are not paying their taxes where they should,” he said.