Von der Leyen in New York: “We have, again, a friend in the White House”

New York, Nov 20 (EFE) .- The president of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, insisted this Friday in a telematics conference in New York that with the victory of Joe Biden in the US presidential elections, the The European Union (EU) has, “again”, a “friend” in the US government, “after four tough years” with outgoing President Donald Trump in power.
“They were four hard years, and the fragmentation, disruption, unpredictability and difficulties for us to keep the G7 and G20 united to honor and respect our multilateral institutions were tangible,” said the European diplomat in a telematic intervention at the prestigious Center “Council of Foreign Relations” of New York.
However, for her Joe Biden is committed to transatlantic relations, “he is proud, of course, of his Irish roots and also understands the European Union as a construction and the historical context in which it was formed”, as well as “the importance of Europe in the integration of both sides of the Atlantic “.
“So we have, again, a friend in the White House and the tone will change,” said the German policy, which laid out the EU’s priorities on what should be the cooperation agenda between the old continent and the new US administration. as of next January 20, when Biden takes office.
As Von der Leyen has already stated on other occasions, he insisted that these four years of US distancing have served “as a real additional impetus for Europe to focus on strengthening itself.”
“The European Union is committed to being more of a true regional and global power to make the most of its geopolitical strength in all areas, from defense, to the economy, from promoting sustainable development, to promoting civil society.” , he stressed.
From this perspective, he urged Biden to resume the good relations between the two powers, but not at the point where they left four years ago.
“Now my message is that we will not go back to what we left four years ago. The world has changed, the United States has changed, the European Union has changed; so let’s start now, in this different world, with a different starting point and let’s write a new transatlantic agenda, “he said.
This new agenda proposed by the President of the EC, who hopes to speak with Biden in the next few days, although she did not offer a date, is built on four pillars: “The prudent opening of the transatlantic movement, trade and travel”; work on climate change and the environment; digital and technological governance and the defense and improvement of institutions and international governance “.
“No country or entity can change the world through unilateral action, so countries must work together, particularly if Europe and the United States work together, we can harness extraordinary global resources and influence. We are home to nearly a billion people, we represent about a third of world GDP, a third of world trade and 60% of foreign direct investment shares, “stressed Von der Leyen.

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