- President Bident will be firmly pro-EU. Unlike Trump, he sees the value of a strong, stable group of prosperous democracies across one of the world’s historically most troubled continents.
- Joe Biden’s victory over populism and nationalism in the United States will be a blow for those European countries – Hungary, Poland and the UK – who trash EU values of democracy and the rule of law. It comes on the heels of the EU itself agreeing that financial support to its authoritarian members can be limited.
- President Biden is no supporter of Brexit and would have preferred the UK to have remained an EU member. He will continue to emphasise the centrality of abiding by the Good Friday Agreement and the Northern Ireland Protocol of the Withdrawal Agreement.
- President Biden can be expected to prioritise a new US/EU trade deal over a US/UK one. The UK could have been a big winner from that, particularly in services and without having to bend to US food standards deregulation.
- President Biden shares a world view that is similar to mainstream EU governments. He will return America to a more multilateral path, rather than an America First ideology. He understands that international co-operation and a win-win mentality is better for all of us than a zero-sum game.
- President Biden will work with the World Health Organisation, with the EU and other countries to help the world overcome Covid and protect against future pandemics. Very different from Trump’s anti-science and anti-health protection approach.
- President Biden can be expected to be a close and positive partner for the EU on climate change action. He will rejoin the Paris Climate Accords and, subject to blockages in Congress, will make climate change and greening of the US economy a central policy.
- President Biden will go out of his way to demonstrate that Europe is a key partner to the US in terms of security – be that in the fight against terror, standing up to Putin, or relaunching the nuclear control deal with Iran. He will reaffirm the US commitment to NATO and the shared defence of Europe.
- President Biden will continue to be wary of China but will look to allies, including the EU, to work together to develop a positive and stable economic and climate change relationship with China while speaking out on human rights violations and other unacceptable behaviour.
The European Movement in Scotland is committed to promoting the essential European value of free speech. Consequently, we regularly publish articles by leading academics, journalists and others discussing issues germane to Scotland’s place in Europe. Such articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Movement in Scotland.
