prijava
PRAGUE, November 12 (FENA) - The US President-elect Joe Biden will be much warmer and more respectful of European allies, which will create a better working atmosphere, but the fact is that relations between the US and the European Union require a serious restart, stressed today the, Executive Vice President of the Transatlantic Network of Leaders from Washington Saša Toperić, a native Sarajevan who participated in a high-level online panel organized by the Czech Institute for Politics, along with Czech Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Pavlicek, Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek, European Parliament Vice President Dita Caranzova and Ambassador Jitka Znamenackova from the Czech Permanent Mission to the EU.
The panel was hosted by Michala Hergetova, a presenter from Czech TV.
Toperić linked the unwillingness and stalling of the incumbent President Donald Trump to admit defeat directly to the second round of the senatorial race in Georgia, where Republicans need a strong turnout of Trump loyal voters to keep Republicans in the Senate, who could lose the will to take to the polls in January next year if Trump concedes.
"Over 71 million Americans voted for Trump, six million more than in 2016. With this fact, it will be difficult for Biden not to continue insisting on greater financial support for NATO by European allies, because the question is why 300 million Americans have to spend so much more money than 500 million Europeans (from rich countries) for Europe's military guarantee protection. Yes, President Biden will be much warmer and more respectful towards European allies, which will create a better working atmosphere, but the fact is that US-EU relations require a serious restart," said Toperić.
According to him, the Democrats - as well as the Republicans - are against the North Stream 2 gas pipeline and cannot understand the need of some European countries to continue the construction of this project.
"Members of the American Congress are worried about what this brings to Ukraine, Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic states. They see this new pipeline as a concession to Russia, whose malignant influence in this region, including the Balkans, would only strengthen. Belarus and Ukraine will be high on the agenda of the new administration.
As for Russia, it remains to be seen who will lead the team in the administration, although Putin's activities in Ukraine, Belarus, and the poisoning of opposition leader Navalny will certainly have a significant impact on these important decisions. Also, I do not believe that the Biden administration will change Trump's course towards China, especially since it has already entered a milder form even during the Obama administration," Toperić believes.
He expects serious talks on tariffs and rising tensions between the world's two leading economies.
Finally, Toperić added, one of the first decisions the Biden administration will make is the return of the United States to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
Toperić stressed that despite Trump's destructive policies on the issue, 34 major cities (including New York, Chicago and Atlanta) have adopted decisions to reduce emissions by 80 percent by 2050, and 62 cities in the United States have adopted similar targets which - when implemented - will have the equivalent of 45 million households switching to solar-only use.
(FENA) S. R.
