Oleg Obukhov
Even the rejection of gadgets did not help European politicians to determine the main thing – where, how and with whom the European Union will go in the future. The only thing that remains a priority is the transatlantic alliance with the United States. But Europe no longer wants to be on the outskirts of this alliance.
Is the EU tired of the US? The calls of European leaders to seek opportunities to strengthen the role of Brussels on the world stage are heard more and more boldly. This attitude has become the leitmotif of the latest debates in the European Parliament, writes the German Internet edition Tagesschau.
With all this, the Europ-ean Union is in no hurry to “put an end to” relations w-ith the United States. Mutu-al economic ties are pain-fully strong. The United St-ates is a huge sales market; it is military aid within the framework of NATO. And in general, America is an authority, if not for everyone, but for many in the world. Therefore, Europe, as much as it would not like to be exclusive, is still too early to claim. However, no one bothers Brussels to declare its exclusive interests. The position of the Europeans has not changed dramatically. She was ripe. And the last straw, it seems, was Washington’s betrayal when it was announced the creation of AUKUS (a trilateral defense alliance of Australia, Great Britain and the United States) bypassing the EU.
The degree of discontent rose when the deal between France and Australia for the purchase of submarines collapsed. In fact, after the “betrayal” Paris tried to hold an informal summit of the European Union as soon as possible, so that, finally, all countries could speak openly and without looking back at the White House. The head of the Council of Europe Charles Michel even asked everyone to gather without smartphones and other electronic devices, in order to eliminate the leakage: when someone goes beyond the scope permitted by berating the US, UK and Australia … The thesis of the meeting, it turned out, more or less clearly expressed France, which demanded creating an independent European security structure; and distancing itself from NATO.
There were other similar statements, but they clearly did not show that Brussels is ready for independence and independence in the political ring. And all because the EU countries are now unable to express a single line of strategy: each has its own interests and relations, both among themselves and with America. Therefore, the debates in the European Parliament so far can only be called an indicator of weakness, and not a demonstration of strength. After all, no one wants to spoil relations with Washington, while flirting with Beijing, for example. On the other hand, many political analysts note, it is already good that the EU has become bolder in expressing its indignation towards US foreign policy.
