President Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to meet in person next month when they spoke by phone Wednesday, French and U.S. officials said, as the two leaders seek to make peace after a secret arms deal led to an unprecedented diplomatic rupture between Washington and its oldest ally.
A White House statement suggested regret over the way the episode unfolded.
“The two leaders agreed that the situation would ahve benefitted from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners,” the statement said.
“President Biden conveyed his ongoing commitment in that regard.”
The White House said Biden and Macron will meet in Europe at the end of October. Both are scheduled to attend the Group of 20 summit in Rome at that time.
The statement also said the ambassador to France would return to Washington next week. Macron had recalled Ambassador Philippe Etienne to Paris in the days after the announcement.
Macron had been said to want an apology from Biden, but the White House statement stopped just short saying there had been one. It said the two leaders agreed to “open a process of in-depth consultations,” but it was not precise about what that means.
In Paris, an Élysée official said ahead of the call Wednesday that Macron and Biden will address “the crisis of confidence which led to the recall of our ambassador, and to take stock of the modalities of a re-engagement.”
The conversation took place Wednesday morning in Washington, before Biden convenes a virtual summit on the global coronavirus pandemic later Wednesday. Macron was not among the leaders participating.
The White House has said that Biden requested a conversation to ease tension caused by the announcement a week ago that the United States would sell nuclear submarines to Australia. The deal effectively cancels one under which Australia had been set to purchase less capable French vessels.
French officials have said the contract is a blow, but that the larger issue is what French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has called “deceit” by a strong ally.
Speaking to reporters at the United Nations on Monday, Le Drian said the United States went behind France’s back and hid the arrangement for months.
The Élysée official said Macron expects “clarifications regarding the American choice to keep a European ally away” from the conversations.
“We expect our allies to recognize that the exchanges and consultations that should have taken place were not conducted and that this raises a question of confidence,” the official said.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter on the record, added that Macron expects a commitment to restoring confidence “through concrete measures, and not just through words.”
“This concerns in particular: the strategic importance of French and European engagement in the Indo-Pacific; the full recognition by our American allies of the need to strengthen European sovereignty as well as of the importance of the growing commitment of Europeans to their defense and security; the joint commitment to the fight against terrorism,” the official said.
Macron is seeking “the initiation of a high-level and long-term process in which the Biden administration would provide strong support to France’s and more largely Europe’s efforts in the field of security and defense,” said Pierre Morcos, a French visiting fellow at the D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Thierry Breton, a close ally of the French president who has served as European commissioner for internal market since 2019 after being nominated by Macron, used a trip to Washington this week to excoriate the Biden administration.
“We should be frank and honest,” Breton said during an interview Monday. “I regret it, but there is a growing feeling that something is broken in European and U.S. relations. . . . It didn’t start because of this story of last week in Australia. It was much before.”
Breton said that while much of the problem stemmed from “the previous administration” in the United States, many in Europe were disappointed by the way the Biden administration had behaved since. “The way it has been handled in Afghanistan has been very painful, not just for the people on the ground but the member states and our allies. Of course, alliances are made of trust. There’s this feeling that trust is not a given and something has been broken.”
Breton also said that while he praised the lifting of U.S. travel restrictions that had effectively blocked access to the United States for most Europeans, the issue had caused frustration in Europe. “Just based on science, on fact, we are the number one continent [in vaccinations per capita]. Better than everyone else. And you put us on the list with Iran, China. Brazil. Is there a rationale behind it?
“There is an increasing feeling within E.U. member states that we may need to pause, reassess everything before announcing a new approach because for the last few months it has been very painful for our partnership and alliance,” Breton added.
The E.U. commissioner, who was visiting the U.S. capital for a joint meeting with the White House coronavirus task force on supply chains, said that Europe would continue to work with the United States on large issues such as the coronavirus and climate change, but other areas may need to be reassessed. “There is a feeling that after Afghanistan, we need to take more and more of our defense into our hands. A lot of countries are saying this,” Breton said.
At the U.N., a planned meeting among European nations and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was canceled. It had been viewed as the first opportunity for Blinken and Le Drian to meet each other this week.
The United States blamed scheduling issues, but Le Drian had already told reporters he had no plans to see Blinken.
A White House statement suggested regret over the way the episode unfolded.
“The two leaders agreed that the situation would ahve benefitted from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners,” the statement said.
“President Biden conveyed his ongoing commitment in that regard.”
The White House said Biden and Macron will meet in Europe at the end of October. Both are scheduled to attend the Group of 20 summit in Rome at that time.
The statement also said the ambassador to France would return to Washington next week. Macron had recalled Ambassador Philippe Etienne to Paris in the days after the announcement.
Macron had been said to want an apology from Biden, but the White House statement stopped just short saying there had been one. It said the two leaders agreed to “open a process of in-depth consultations,” but it was not precise about what that means.
In Paris, an Élysée official said ahead of the call Wednesday that Macron and Biden will address “the crisis of confidence which led to the recall of our ambassador, and to take stock of the modalities of a re-engagement.”
The conversation took place Wednesday morning in Washington, before Biden convenes a virtual summit on the global coronavirus pandemic later Wednesday. Macron was not among the leaders participating.
The White House has said that Biden requested a conversation to ease tension caused by the announcement a week ago that the United States would sell nuclear submarines to Australia. The deal effectively cancels one under which Australia had been set to purchase less capable French vessels.
French officials have said the contract is a blow, but that the larger issue is what French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has called “deceit” by a strong ally.
Speaking to reporters at the United Nations on Monday, Le Drian said the United States went behind France’s back and hid the arrangement for months.
The Élysée official said Macron expects “clarifications regarding the American choice to keep a European ally away” from the conversations.
“We expect our allies to recognize that the exchanges and consultations that should have taken place were not conducted and that this raises a question of confidence,” the official said.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter on the record, added that Macron expects a commitment to restoring confidence “through concrete measures, and not just through words.”
“This concerns in particular: the strategic importance of French and European engagement in the Indo-Pacific; the full recognition by our American allies of the need to strengthen European sovereignty as well as of the importance of the growing commitment of Europeans to their defense and security; the joint commitment to the fight against terrorism,” the official said.
Macron is seeking “the initiation of a high-level and long-term process in which the Biden administration would provide strong support to France’s and more largely Europe’s efforts in the field of security and defense,” said Pierre Morcos, a French visiting fellow at the D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Thierry Breton, a close ally of the French president who has served as European commissioner for internal market since 2019 after being nominated by Macron, used a trip to Washington this week to excoriate the Biden administration.
“We should be frank and honest,” Breton said during an interview Monday. “I regret it, but there is a growing feeling that something is broken in European and U.S. relations. . . . It didn’t start because of this story of last week in Australia. It was much before.”
Breton said that while much of the problem stemmed from “the previous administration” in the United States, many in Europe were disappointed by the way the Biden administration had behaved since. “The way it has been handled in Afghanistan has been very painful, not just for the people on the ground but the member states and our allies. Of course, alliances are made of trust. There’s this feeling that trust is not a given and something has been broken.”
Breton also said that while he praised the lifting of U.S. travel restrictions that had effectively blocked access to the United States for most Europeans, the issue had caused frustration in Europe. “Just based on science, on fact, we are the number one continent [in vaccinations per capita]. Better than everyone else. And you put us on the list with Iran, China. Brazil. Is there a rationale behind it?
“There is an increasing feeling within E.U. member states that we may need to pause, reassess everything before announcing a new approach because for the last few months it has been very painful for our partnership and alliance,” Breton added.
The E.U. commissioner, who was visiting the U.S. capital for a joint meeting with the White House coronavirus task force on supply chains, said that Europe would continue to work with the United States on large issues such as the coronavirus and climate change, but other areas may need to be reassessed. “There is a feeling that after Afghanistan, we need to take more and more of our defense into our hands. A lot of countries are saying this,” Breton said.
At the U.N., a planned meeting among European nations and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was canceled. It had been viewed as the first opportunity for Blinken and Le Drian to meet each other this week.
The United States blamed scheduling issues, but Le Drian had already told reporters he had no plans to see Blinken.
