French are again playing the role of the EU’s geopolitical alarm-clock
A sign outside the French Embassy is seen after it was announced France decided to recall its ambassadors in the US and Australia for consultations after Australia struck a deal with the US and Britain which ended a $40bn French-designed submarine deal, in Washington, US, September 17, 2021. Picture: REUTERS/GERSHON PEAKS
No doubt the deafening silence from other European countries on this issue might reassure the “AUKUS” trio that France’s anger will be short-lived and symbolic. One could hear the veritable pin drop in Germany, where a pre-election leaders’ debate had nothing to offer on subs or European geopolitics. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, meanwhile, promoted his recent meeting with Johnson in London as proof of “strengthening” ties with a country the French see as AUKUS’s third wheel.
The next phase of this spat is going to get uglier. France is once again playing the role of the EU’s geopolitical alarm-clock, warning that the bloc risks drifting into a more dangerous century with no real means to defend its interests beyond trade. This kind of rhetoric has a habit of falling on deaf ears, and the Baltic states in particular are suspicious of France’s intentions in this area.
That is nothing to make the White House lose sleep, given its focus on a foreign policy that can be sold to the American middle-class. But it is hardly conducive to progress on global issues like climate change, nuclear proliferation, and the rise of China, not least because Australia will now have to wait even longer to renew its submarine fleet.
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