American President Joe Biden will only have a few more months in office and is now leaving for his final tour. After recently postponing his visit to Germany due to Hurricane Milton, he is in Berlin today.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier also awarded him the Grand Cross of the Federal Order of Merit. "In this way, the federal president recognizes the merits of President Biden for the German-American friendship and the transatlantic alliance, which Biden for more than five decades strengthened," the reasons read.
The relationship between the US and Europe, and especially the relationship between the US and Germany, has always been important to Biden. With the end of his presidency, an era also ends. "I think he can be defined as the last transatlantic president," Michelle Egan, an expert on US-German relations, told DV. "This is due to his long-term work with NATO, with the Munich Security Conference and with the Foreign Policy Committee of the US Senate, through which he met many European state leaders before becoming president."
Why is Biden called a great transatlantic?
Biden was born in 1942. He grew up in a country that helped rebuild West Germany after World War II. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1961, he saw West Germany become one of the most important partners of the United States during the Cold War.
"Biden has been in politics since 1972, and in the field of foreign policy, the Cold War had a very big influence on the formation of his positions. Then Germany is practically at the center of this conflict," political scientist Peter Sparding told DV.
Biden's foreign policy experience proved key to him during his tenure as Barack Obama's vice president. "Obama didn't have much foreign policy experience when he took office," notes Egan. "Biden got the vice presidency for that reason – he had the relevant connections and the necessary knowledge."
During his two terms, Obama was very popular in Europe, as he re-established transatlantic contacts after the presidency of George W. Bush, Egan also said. In fact, it is Biden who is the person with the emotional connection to Europe, not Obama.
USA and Germany: a lot in common
And today, under the presidency of Biden, Germany remains an important partner of the United States. The two countries are among those who provide the most support to Ukraine in its defense against Russia. In addition, both the USA and Germany are among the countries that, in the current conflict in the Middle East, particularly emphasize Israel's right to self-defense.
Eagan also notes that the two countries are connected not only by their similar positions on the international stage, but also by the similarity in the domestic political challenges they face. "Both the US and Germany are currently experiencing a political split," says the expert on transatlantic relations. It refers to the opposition between Democrats and Republicans in the USA, and in Germany – the strengthening of the right-wing populist "Alternative for Germany".
"The second parallel, I think, is the theme of borders and border control," Egan adds. She points to the tightening of Germany's migration policy after the bombing by a migrant in Solingen in August, and in the US – refugee policy and security along the US-Mexico border.
US turns to other partners
Biden is seen as the last great transatlantic, also because Germany will play a smaller role for Washington in the future than in the past. In addition, it would not be able to rely on the US to protect European security as much as before, believes Peter Sparding.
"In the future, relations between Germany and the USA will look different, regardless of who will be the next president,", Sparding is convinced. "The USA is turning more and more to Southeast Asia, and perceives China as a serious competitor. That is, on the American side, there are expectations that countries like Germany will take more responsibility in and for Europe."