The German chancellor, the French president and the Chinese head of state held an important online meeting this week. Radio Kossuth said in the newspaper “European Time” that the fact of this alone is important, but it is important to highlight the ranks of the President of the People’s Republic of China, Shen Qing, who hoped that Europe would gain independence from America.
Hsi Qin-ping’s statement can be interpreted in many ways, but it certainly raises a question:
Are China and the United States pursuing Europe’s interests, or is Europe more a tool in the prominent US-China geopolitical and economic debate?
István Pócza, a foreign policy analyst and head of the professional program at the Lajos Batthyány Foundation, believes that the latter reason is that he often uses Europe’s foreign policy and improperly enforces economic interests.
The problem is that Europe and the Brussels leadership have moved in the direction of trying to express themselves on more divisive issues. It is clear that there are very different views among the 27 member states. This means constant internal tension, which also causes external weakness.The expert said.
Istvan Bocza stressed that this external weakness is also seen by partners, the United States, China and Russia are partners and competitors.
The analyst said that, under Donald Trump, Europe would have had the opportunity to stand on its own two feet on foreign policy and assert economic policy – as the former US president distanced himself from European issues – but that hasn’t happened. The Biden administration has returned to the policy of the Obama administration that we already know and is taking a more pressure policy.
Value disputes arise in connection with many discussions between EU member states
István Pócza thinks it is clearly detrimental to foreign policy, since member states currently have a crucial role in foreign policy, and if the relationship between member states is turbulent, they think very differently, then it looks and spreads on many other issues as well.
The foreign policy analyst believes that Europe can reunite by returning to “the least common multiple principles” and examining what is in everyone’s interest, and what is in Europe’s interest, but this will require all member states to make every effort.
You can listen to the full conversation here:
This article was written in collaboration with Euranet Plus, the main broadcasting network for news about the European Union. Let’s understand Europe better!
cover photo illustration