Munich Security Conference: Joe Biden tells Europe ‘America is back’

The US president spoke of an "inflection point" that would decide "the future direction of our world" at the MSC, while Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron and Boris Johnson reaffirmed the trans-Atlantic partnership.

For the first time ever, the acting US president spoke at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) to re-affirm the trans-Atlantic alliance, which many world leaders feared had been left in diplomatic disarray by his predecessor, Donald Trump.

"I speak today as president of the United States and I'm sending a clear message to the world: America is back," President Joe Biden, beamed in from Washington DC, told the conference on Friday. "The trans-Atlantic alliance is back."

The sense of relief was palpable on the stage of Munich's Bayerischer Hof hotel, where MSC head Wolfgang Ischinger, a seasoned German diplomat and former ambassador to the US, was visibly excited to be hosting a three-way video-link with Biden, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and French President Emmanuel Macron.

But there were also hints that the alliance was not simply going to be a return to an old world order. Biden warned against re-establishing Cold War power blocs, while Macron spoke of a re-balancing of trans-Atlantic ties — especially when it came to defense. 

Macron reiterated his vision of a stronger European Union that would "take much more of the burden of our own protection."

The key issue here, as it had been under Trump, was defense spending and the contribution to NATO — but the tone was conciliatory. Biden has reversed Trump's decision to withdraw troops from the US bases in Germany, and both Merkel and Macron reiterated their commitment to increasing defense spending to meet NATO's target of 2% of GDP.

"We have to increase our defense investment," – Macron said. "This is a way to re-balance the trans-Atlantic relationship. Having an EU much more invested in defense makes us much more credible within NATO." 

Macron said this was especially important because the US had shifted its focus to becoming a "Pacific" power.

Nevertheless, in a series of 15-minute speeches, the three leaders reaffirmed their mutual commitment to an alliance that European Council President Charles Michel, speaking later, called "the backbone of the rules-based international order."

"Let me erase any lingering doubt, the US will work closely with our EU partners," said Biden.

The US president also warned of the encroaching threat to democracy in both the US and Europe.

"We are in the midst of a fundamental debate about the future and direction of our world," he said. "We are at an inflection point between those who argue that given all the challenges we face, from the fourth industrial revolution to the global pandemic, that autocracy is the best way forward, and those who understand that democracy is essential to meeting these challenges."

For Chancellor Angela Merkel, who spoke after Biden, the president's words provided a cue to invoke her favorite theme: The importance of multilateralism for facing humanity's various existential threats. And Biden's election, it seemed, had reinvigorated the notion: "This year the prospects for multilateralism are much better than they used to be and that has a lot to do with Joe Biden," she said.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, speaking from London towards the end of the three-hour event, also found it in his heart to welcome Biden's election: "As you've seen and heard earlier, America is unreservedly back as the leader of the free world and that is a fantastic thing," Johnson said. "We're turning a corner and the countries we call the West are drawing together and combining their formidable strength and expertise once again."