French President Emmanuel Macron has banked on Franco-German cooperation, an approach that finally proved successful in 2020. With Angela Merkel leaving the scene, he needs to build bridges to her potential successors, and quickly.
There is a growing consensus that the EU has to become a geopolitical actor. To achieve this goal, numerous constraints will need to be overcome. Priorities include defining its position vis-à-vis the incoming Biden administration—and China.
With chances for European-Russian cooperation slim, containment must remain the focus of the EU’s policy vis-à-vis Moscow.
Trade relations would inevitably worsen further should Donald Trump win a second term. But even if Joe Biden wins, a transatlantic economic re-set cannot be taken for granted.
