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Joe Biden and Angela Merkel in 2013 in the Chancellery: Old friends
Photo:
Markus Schreiber / AP
After his election as US president, Joe Biden clearly separated himself from Donald Trump's "America first" doctrine.
In telephone conversations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, he promised to revive the severely damaged transatlantic relationship.
"First of all, I'll let them know America is back," Biden said on Tuesday.
"We'll be back in the game. It's not just about America."
Trump had threatened, among other things, with the US withdrawing from NATO, terminated international treaties such as the Paris climate protection agreement and repeatedly attacked allies like Germany.
Biden said the reactions he has received from allies and friends around the world have been positive.
He is confident that it will be possible to make the USA a respected partner again.
Working on a common agenda with the EU
Biden spoke out in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
He was declared the winner on Saturday based on surveys and forecasts by the US media.
The counts in the key states spoke a clear language.
Trump has so far refused to admit defeat.
He speaks - without presenting any evidence - of electoral fraud and is suing the counts in several US states.
In the meantime, Biden is preparing for international assignments, unimpressed by this.
On Monday he had already telephoned Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and on Tuesday with the European allies.
He promised Chancellor Merkel to strengthen relations with Germany and to work closely with her, as his team announced.
The common challenges included combating the corona pandemic, protecting the climate and revitalizing the global economy.
"He also welcomed the opportunity to work with the EU on a common agenda," said the Biden team's statement.
Greater commitment to security issues
According to the German government spokesman Steffen Seibert, Merkel wanted a close and trusting cooperation during the phone call.
Both agreed "that transatlantic cooperation is of great importance in view of the multitude of global challenges".
Merkel also sent her congratulations to Kamala Harris, who had been elected Vice President.
The Chancellor had already congratulated Biden in writing on Saturday.
In a public statement on Monday, she offered him a stronger German commitment to security issues.
"We Germans and we Europeans know that in this partnership in the 21st century we have to take on more of our own responsibility," said the CDU politician.
German-American relations had plummeted to a low point in four years of Trump.
The federal government is now hoping for a significant improvement.
However, the coalition partners Union and SPD disagree on the extent to which the Americans should be accommodated on the issue of security.
It is expected that Biden will stick to Trump's call for more defense spending in Germany.
Concerned about Brexit course
The first four interlocutors in Europe were probably chosen by Biden with care.
With Germany and France he addressed the two most populous and probably also most influential member states of the European Union.
Trump had major problems with the leaderships of both countries, but maintained very close relationships with the right-wing conservative government in Poland.
In the phone call between Biden and Macron, the topics of climate protection and the fight against terrorism were highlighted, as announced by the Élysée Palace in Paris.
With Great Britain, Biden turned to a traditionally very close ally of the USA.
However, he has been concerned about the British government's Brexit course in the past.
Prime Minister Johnson said on Twitter that he had spoken to Biden for 25 minutes: "I look forward to deepening the partnership between our countries and working on common goals - such as combating climate change, strengthening democracy and getting out of the pandemic to come out. "
According to his office, he invited Biden to the UN climate conference in Glasgow next year.
The Brexit and his controversial plans to overturn the current agreement with the EU with a law, Johnson did not mention in his statement.
It is still puzzled what effect the US election could have on negotiations on a trade deal between the EU and the UK, which are in the crucial phase.
Signal for Northern Ireland
One of the sticking points is the Northern Ireland question.
In the autumn, Biden announced that peace there should not become a "victim of Brexit".
The fact that the Irish Prime Minister was also one of the four Europeans he called first could be a sign of this.
According to his team, Biden, who has Irish roots himself, discussed the 1998 Northern Ireland Peace Agreement in both talks with Johnson and Martin.
With the international phone calls just a few days after his election victory, Biden kept a promise from the election campaign.
Then he said, "The first thing I have to do, and I'm not joking, if I get elected, I have to call the heads of state and say that America is back, you can count on us."
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luz / dpa / Reuters