The EU states assure France of their support in the dispute with Australia and the US.

The EU states assure France of their support in the dispute with Australia and the US.

The EU Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell

© © 2021 AFP

EU states have assured France of their support in the dispute with Australia and the United States over the collapse of the submarine business.

EU states have assured France of their support in the dispute with Australia and the United States over the collapse of the submarine business. The foreign ministers of the other 26 member states had expressed “their clear solidarity with France” on Monday night at a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, the EU foreign affairs representative said. , Josep Borrell.

The resentment in Paris as a result of the announcement of an Indo-Pacific alliance between the United States, Britain and Australia is not a “bilateral issue” but affects the entire EU, Borrell said. He regretted that this alliance “does not lead to greater cooperation” with the EU in the region.

The United States, Britain and Australia announced their plans last week. This goes hand in hand with a US deal to build nuclear submarines for Australia. This led the Australian government to cancel a long-term submarine deal with France.

The French government ruled in outrage and called on its Canberra and Washington ambassadors to re-deliberate. Chancellor Jean-Yves Le Drian reiterated his accusations of a “serious breach of trust” by the allies in New York. Europeans would now have to “think hard” how to react to this.

The conflict now overshadows the general UN debate that began on Tuesday. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described France’s treatment as “unacceptable”. EU Council President Charles Michel accused the US of a “clear lack of transparency and loyalty.”

To calm France’s anger over the broken deal, the United States, Britain and Australia recently adopted conciliatory tones. US President Joe Biden wants to call France’s head of state Emmanuel Macron soon. A US government official said Biden was waiting for the interview and would like to talk about a “way forward.”

AFP

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