The European Union announced a new plan on Wednesday to improve relations with the U.S. ahead of the inauguration of Joe Biden, CNBC reports.
It’s been a tense four years of trans-Atlantic ties, with President Donald Trump and the EU clashing over trade, defense, technology and foreign relations — to name a few points of contention.
As the Biden administration is due to arrive at the White House on Jan. 20, the EU has not wasted any time and has prepared a new plan to reset that relationship.
“We are taking the initiative to design a new transatlantic agenda fit for today’s global landscape,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement Wednesday.
“It is time to reconnect,” she added. Meanwhile, the commission’s executive vice president, Valdis Dombrovskis, told CNBC the EU was sending a “signal that we are ready and willing to engage with the U.S.”
In a document entitled “A new EU-U.S. agenda for global change,” the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, defined four major policy areas to focus on: health response, climate change, trade and tech, and security.
