For the first time in seven years, a US President will be in Brussels to attend an EU-US summit. At the end of the event, which will be on Tuesday 15 June, the Presidents of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Council, Charles Michel, and Joe Biden will adopt a joint declaration.
The declaration will focus on five main areas: the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, climate, trade, new technologies and security and defence topics.
Covid-19 and economic recovery
The supply of vaccines and treatments for Covid-19 will be the top priority of this exchange. The EU wants the US to commit to a joint response that ensures equitable access to vaccines worldwide.
“We are happy to see the announcement from the United States which has committed to exporting vaccines”, a European source said on Monday 14 June. But the EU wants to go further with its partner. “The summit will confirm that we have a common responsibility to help the least developed countries”, the same source said.
The Europeans aim to establish a working group between the EU and the US to increase overall production capacity and keep supply chains open.
Climate
Here again, the EU would like to look to Washington to set a global example on environmental issues. The EU is particularly keen to see its partner move towards climate neutrality by 2050.
The summit is expected to launch a new ‘green tech alliance’, according to a second EU source. Such an alliance would support cooperation on clean and circular technologies such as renewables, energy storage, batteries, clean hydrogen, carbon capture, storage and use.
Finally, the EU and the US should commit to the development of a regulatory framework for sustainable finance. According to one EU diplomat, “we need a robust global framework to ensure sustainable investments”.
Trade
“The ground is ready for working towards more structured cooperation in bilateral trade and tech issues”, the same source said.
But before that happens, ongoing disputes must be resolved. The two sides are working to resolve the Airbus/Boeing dispute as well as the steel and aluminium dispute which has resulted in punitive tariffs on both sides of the Atlantic.
On 11 July, the temporary suspension decided in March will end (see EUROPE 12672/1). Europeans and Americans must therefore try to find a solution to this conflict by then.
On steel and aluminium, the EU is targeting the end of the year to end punitive tariffs, according to Reuters.
On Monday, the Director of the employers’ organisation BusinessEurope, Markus J. Beyrer, stressed the importance of putting an end to these disputes: “We call on leaders to find long-term solutions to commercial disputes that have negatively impacted businesses and citizens and have impaired our ability to address global challenges together”.
Cooperation on new technologies
As announced in the December presentation of its Agenda for a New Transatlantic Relationship (see EUROPE 12614/4), the EU wants to maximise cooperation on new technologies.
First, the proposal for an EU-US Trade and Technology Council. The Council should set standards for emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, online platforms, cybersecurity and the Internet of Things.
For the American Chamber of Commerce AmCham, “further transatlantic cooperation is needed on issues like cybersecurity, cyberespionage and supply chain security”.
In addition, the summit should be an opportunity to address the issue of the responsibility of online platforms and their taxation at global level. For the EU, this would require a regular dialogue between the two parties.
Joining forces regarding China and Russia
On China, the two partners could underline their intention to consult and cooperate closely on their respective approaches to Beijing. China, they argue, is a strategic partner, a competitor and a systemic rival. The two sides could discuss the human rights situation in the country, Hong Kong, economic coercion, disinformation campaigns and regional security issues.
Another country of concern to both partners is Russia. After the summit, Joe Biden will fly to Geneva, where he will meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on 16 June. EU leaders will discuss the EU’s strategy towards Russia at their summit on 24 June.
According to an EU source, EU and US leaders are expected to agree on the creation of a dialogue on Russia, along the same lines as the one on China (see EUROPE 12727/15).
Leaders could underline their unity in a principled approach regarding Russia and their readiness to respond to its “negative behaviour and harmful activities”.
Europeans and Americans could discuss other issues such as Georgia, the Western Balkans or the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, according to an EU diplomat. He added that the two sides could also talk about Turkey.
Europeans are expected to support Joe Biden in his idea of a democracy summit.
Finally, the two parties could decide to strengthen their cooperation in terms of security and defence, according to an EU source. They should also welcome the agreement on US participation in the permanent structured cooperation project on military mobility. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal and Camille-Cerise Gessant)