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Brussels — Germany joined France on Tuesday, accusing the United States of secretly negotiating a security pact with Australia and Britain and signing a defense pact in favor of Paris, but EU top executives said no such action. He said it was unacceptable.
With a concrete signal of Brock’s anger, the EU ambassador postponed preparations for the first Trade Technology Council with the United States on September 29. This is a rally that has been overwhelmed as a major step forward for the Transatlantic Alliance.
“One of our member states is treated in an unacceptable way, so we need to know what happened and why,” said Ursula von der Aleien, President of the European Commission. Defended and stated.
Her EU executives called for a preparatory EU discussion to remove the US Trade Technology Council from Wednesday’s agenda, two EU diplomats told Reuters.
France said last week that Australia was valuing all options in response to the cancellation of its $ 40 billion submarine contract, but Germany, its largest EU ally, rebounded behind it, with Washington and Canberra He said it undermined confidence among allies that were difficult to rebuild.
“We can’t rely solely on others, but we have to work together. We need to overcome our differences (within the EU) and speak in one voice,” said Europe in Germany. The minister in charge, Michael Ross, told reporters in a meeting with his counterpart in Brussels.
“We all need to sit at the table. We need to rebuild the lost trust — and this is obviously not easy. But we want to make a constructive contribution.” He added.
The controversy follows NATO’s European allies saying Washington failed to contact and consult during the chaotic western withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Australia says the US offer to access US nuclear technology to build a nuclear-powered submarine was too good to refuse. Canberra will be the second country after Britain in 1958 to be given the technology to help Washington prevent China from gaining military hegemony.
Australia has said it will cancel orders for conventional submarines from France, a British technology for conventional diesel-electric drive, under a new security partnership named AUKUS.
The UK is also looking for a global role after the decision to leave the EU.
Brexit Australia Trade Negotiations
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said he would like to know why his country, which has a strong military presence in the Indo-Pacific, was put in total darkness. The top EU diplomats were also not consulted, despite their close historical, cultural, economic and security ties between Europe, Australia and the United States.
The spats also question the free trade negotiations between the EU and Australia, the world’s largest trade bloc. They are currently in negotiations and the next round is scheduled for October. It is not clear if they will move on.
France’s European minister, Clément Beaune, said relations with Australia are currently “very difficult.”
“You can’t act as if nothing had happened. We need to consider all the options,” he told reporters in Brussels. The EU Foreign Ministers who met in New York also expressed solidarity with France.
Beaune welcomed the EU’s support, which is a European issue as well as a French issue, and it is unclear what action Block can take swiftly, but Block will protect its interests. He emphasized that he should be more aggressive.
Beaune said this indicated a further decline in confidence in Britain after Brexit. The UK also did not properly apply the protocol governing the fishing portion of the EU-UK trade agreement or the trade position of Northern Ireland, he said.
“I can’t say I support what suits me and throw away what doesn’t suit the British, so I think trust, consistency and respect for consent are essential,” he said.
Philip Brenkinsop and Robin Emot
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