Biden: will international politics be more peaceful?
All over Europe Biden's election has triggered a great sense of relief. Yet just days after his victory, the EU has imposed punitive tariffs on the US, an indication that the interests on both sides of the Atlantic are likely to continue to diverge. Commentators discuss what the change in the White House will mean for international politics.
Fewer tensions, more trade
Diena hopes that under Joe Biden the US will be more cooperative with its economic partners:
“Although Trump was generally well-disposed towards US businesses and had a positive influence on the Wall Street Index, he was rather unpredictable. The new president is now expected to be more open to the rest of the world. This would mean fewer tensions in trade relations with Europe, Canada and Mexico, as well as a larger turnover of goods, services and money, which is very important at a time when the spread of Covid-19 is breaking new records.”
Hope for the West Balkans
Hardly any US politicians know the situation in the Western Balkans as well as Joe Biden, notes Jutarnji list:
“In contrast to Trump, Biden not only knows the region, but has made a real contribution to ending the conflicts in Bosnia Herzegovina and Kosovo. As president he won't be able to focus much on the region, perhaps not at all. He will hardly find the time to bring about a reconciliation between the Serbs and Albanians when he has to reconcile his own nation, the Americans, who are more divided than ever before. But the US administration under his mandate will cooperate with the EU in the Balkans as well as elsewhere, and the EU needs someone to encourage it to do some work in its own backyard. ... Washington under Biden will be neither a competitor nor an obstacle, but a source of support.”
Time to wake up
Things won't necessarily get easier for the EU with Biden in office, Krytyka Polityczna predicts:
“Whereas any kind of agreement was as good as impossible while Trump was in charge of American politics, one can hardly imagine that the Europeans will snub Biden if he invites them to the negotiating table. This is more than a new packaging, it's a fundamental qualitative change. Paradoxically, however, the Biden administration could pose a greater challenge to Europe than the outgoing government did. In such a situation we Europeans must not repeat our mistakes from the Obama era. At that time we basically slept through all demands for greater cooperation.”
Mutton dressed up as lamb
Europe should not expect too much from the new US president, says G4Media.ro:
“On many foreign policy issues there will be a kind of continuation of his predecessor's course. The reserved attitude of the US in military matters will not change under the new leadership in the White House. On the contrary, Biden already made the case for a quick withdrawal of US troops from Iraq during Obama's term of office. Just as with Trump, Europe will not be the priority foreign policy area for Biden. Washington is looking primarily to Asia and sees the rise of China as the greatest threat to America's security and prosperity.”
Kremlin can heave a sigh of relief
Russia should be glad that Trump was voted out, fakti.bg believes:
“Biden will intensify anti-Russian rhetoric, the international media are writing. The problem is that with him everything will stay on the level of rhetoric. In contrast to Trump, who said nothing at all against Russia, but acted: he literally chased the Russian secret services out of the Balkans. He brought the US Navy to the Black Sea and was preparing to build something like a naval base here. ... He was in the process of destroying Russia's energy dominance in Europe, and he made many Nato countries pay for their defence rather than for absurd socialist programmes.”
Headwind for Netanyahu
The change of administration in the White House will put a stop to Israel's settlement policy, El País believes:
“Fundamentalist Jews who use the Bible instead of international laws as title deeds for the Palestinian territories will have a hard time securing the kind of support they have enjoyed for the past four years from the Biden administration. All that will remain of the peace plan conceived by Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, is what Israel has already achieved: diplomatic recognition by the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan. This is nothing to be sniffed at, especially when the relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem and the recognition of Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights territories conquered by Syria are also taken into account.”