Biden’s Price

The trans-Atlantic consensus on Ukraine does not change the fact that Europe and America also have conflicting interests. When it comes to China, those differences should not become too great.

The leadership role that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz foresees for himself and for Germany becomes more relative in the face of another intermediate European Union power with global ambitions. This is also known to those in the White House — which is the reason French President Emmanuel Macron was just in Washington to enjoy a second state visit.

Paris was perhaps even more important than Berlin for establishing the current trans-Atlantic unity, which Vladimir Putin was surely not expecting. In fact, France insisted on a special role in NATO during the Cold War, and, as is well known, Macron has described the alliance as “brain-dead” several times before.

Tough Competition on Climate Protection

The current consensus on Ukraine does not change the fact that Europe and America also have conflicting interests. Joe Biden’s subsidies for climate protection are an obvious example that demonstrates to all Europeans, especially to the evangelistic Germans, that this issue is about hard-nosed industrial competition.

Future relations with China will probably become an even more fundamental issue than climate. It is already apparent in NATO that Biden is demanding a price from the Europeans for supporting Ukraine and Europe’s security. After all, the news out of the NATO summit in Bucharest was that consensus about China is growing. Russia has long offered a case study in the possible consequences of Western disunity.