(Washington) US President Joe Biden will receive the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the White House on Friday March 10 to discuss support for Ukraine, but also less consensual subjects relating to the climate or the China.
Both will “look into the strong cooperation between the United States and the European Union to support Ukraine” and “sanction Russia,” the White House said in a statement Thursday.
Also on the menu are discussions on “coordination between the United States and the European Union to combat the climate crisis through investments in clean energy, through secure supply chains. »
Behind this tortuous formulation, hides the subject of transatlantic friction of the moment: the adoption, at the initiative of Joe Biden, of major investment plans in the energy transition in the United States, openly favoring the “Made in America” for example for electric cars, and much criticized by some European countries.
Joe Biden and Ursula von der Leyen will also talk about the initiatives launched to reduce European dependence on Russian hydrocarbons.
The exchange will finally focus on “other international security topics, including our joint work to respond to the challenges posed by China. »
On this point, too, Washington and certain European countries are not quite on the same wavelength.
The American president would like his European allies to take a firmer stand against Beijing, diplomatically, but also technologically and economically.