“We are not just allies and partners, we are nations that are close friends,” said Merkel on Thursday in Washington after a detailed conversation with Biden.
He presented the cooperation as having no alternative and thanked Merkel for her “strong leadership role” in her term of office, which is soon to end. “I know that the partnership between Germany and the United States will grow even stronger on the foundation that you helped to build,” continued Biden. In a “Washington Declaration”, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to “close bilateral cooperation in promoting peace, security and prosperity around the world”.
At the same time, Biden and Merkel made it clear that they continued to have different views on the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Good friends could also have disagreements, Biden said. He warned Russia against using its energy resources as a “weapon” or leverage against its neighbors such as Ukraine. Biden said at the joint press conference in the White House that he had once again expressed his concerns about Nord Stream 2 to Merkel. The USA and Germany agreed to support Ukraine in reforms and with a view to its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The almost completed pipeline is supposed to bring natural gas from Russia past Ukraine directly to Germany. Merkel emphasized that Nord Stream 2 is an additional project and not an alternative to gas transit through Ukraine. “Our understanding was and is and will remain that Ukraine remains a transit country for natural gas.” Anything else would “create very great tensions”. She assured “that we will act actively if Russia does not honor Ukraine’s right to transit land”.
The Baltic Sea pipeline is currently the biggest conflict between the USA and Germany. The USA and some Eastern European NATO partners fear that Europe is too dependent on Russian energy supplies and therefore reject the project. Washington and Berlin have been trying to find a compromise for weeks.
Merkel paid a farewell visit to Washington. This should mark the new beginning of German-American relations after a low point in the era of Biden’s predecessor Trump. Biden is trying to repair relations with Germany and other US allies that were heavily strained under Trump. Merkel was the first head of government from Europe to receive Biden in the White House since he took office on January 20. The CDU politician will not run again in the federal election in September and will then withdraw from politics.
“Competition with others”
Other topics of the talks included relations with China and Russia and climate policy. According to Merkel, Germany and the USA decided on an energy and climate partnership. This is an important sign, said the Chancellor. It is about the expansion of future-proof technologies such as hydrogen or renewable energies. “Here we are in competition with others in the world, and we want to survive this competition successfully.” Merkel said she was happy that the US had returned to the Paris climate agreement.
Under Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump, the United States withdrew from the agreement. Biden reversed this decision on his first day in office.
Merkel had already emphasized during the greeting by Biden that she valued the friendship with the USA very much. “I know what America has done for the history of a free and democratic Germany.” Biden called Merkel a good friend. Shortly before they arrived, he had already recognized the partnership with Germany as “iron”. Biden wrote on Twitter that one is determined to tackle common challenges together in the coming years.
Merkel received an honorary doctorate from Johns Hopkins University prior to meeting Biden. In her acceptance speech, she called for the United Nations to be made more capable of acting. “Because they still offer the best chance to find global answers to global questions.” Merkel emphasized: “The imperative in our often networked but also so vulnerable world is to bundle our strengths. The coronavirus pandemic shows particularly clearly how important this is.” It should be clear to everyone that this can only be overcome together.
Biden: Check the corona entry restriction for Europeans
Biden announced that he will probably comment on the corona-related entry restrictions for people from Germany and other European Schengen countries in the coming days. Merkel raised the issue. Discussions are currently being held on how the travel restrictions could be lifted soon. He will be able to answer the question in the coming days, said Biden. “I’m waiting to hear from our people on our Covid team when this should happen.”
At the start of her political talks, the German Chancellor first met for breakfast with US Vice President Kamala Harris at her official residence. The latter later stated that they had expressed a common interest in strengthening the transatlantic partnership and in continuing close cooperation in areas such as the fight against the pandemic, global health and environmental protection.
In the evening (local time) the US President and First Lady Jill Biden wanted to give a dinner in honor of the Chancellor. Merkel’s husband Joachim Sauer should also take part. Then Merkel and her delegation wanted to fly back to Germany.
Biden’s predecessor Trump saw Germany more as a competitor and less as an ally. The Republican had repeatedly criticized German defense spending, the German trade surplus and Nord Stream 2.
