BRUSSELS, Belgium (Dispatches) -- The U.S. and Australian decision to strip France of a submarine supply contract is a stark reminder the EU must bolster its capacity to act independently, French and German ministers said on Tuesday.
“It is once again a wake-up call for all of us in the European Union to ask ourselves how we can strengthen our sovereignty, how we can present a united front even on issues relevant to foreign and security policy,” Germany’s minister for European affairs Michael Roth said, arriving at ministerial talks in Brussels.
France’s minister for European affairs Clement Beaune called the row “a European issue” not simply a French one, and that Paris expected support from EU partners.
“I don’t think France is overreacting and I don’t think France should overreact. But when a situation is worrying, is serious, I think it’s also our responsibility to state it very clearly,” he said.
France is furious that the United States, Australia and Britain worked behind its back to negotiate their AUKUS defense pact and replace Canberra’s multi-billion-dollar order of French submarines with U.S. ones.
The European Commission said it was considering whether the diplomatic storm would affect a gathering of a new EU-US Trade and Technology Council in Pittsburgh on September 29 to discuss ways to cooperate on trade and regulating big tech.
France’s minister for trade Franck Riester has not yet decided whether on travelling to Pittsburgh, a source close to him told AFP. He was not formally part of the EU negotiating team, which is made up of European Commission officials.
An EU diplomat said France had “floated” the idea of delaying the TTC meeting, though they face opposition from the Baltic republics, which border Russia and set great store in the NATO alliance.
On Monday in New York French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian accused U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration of continuing his predecessor Donald Trump’s trends of “unilateralism, unpredictability, brutality and not respecting your partner.”
“We are allies, we talk and don’t hide elaborate different strategies. That’s why there is a crisis in confidence,” Le Drian said. “So all that needs clarifications and explanations. It may take time.”
European Council President Charles Michel said that he found it difficult to understand the move by Australia, Britain and the United States.
“Why? Because with the new Joe Biden administration, America is back. This was the historic message sent by this new administration and now we have questions. What does it mean - America is back? Is America back in America or somewhere else? We don’t know,” he told reporters in New York.