The French government has been in a state since last week when Australia abandoned a huge deal to buy conventional submarines from France. Instead, the US and UK announced they would help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines as part of a new pact that will be called AUKUS.
The move opened a new fissure in the European Union and sparked growing public criticism from Western officials.
Thierry Breton, the EU commissioner for internal markets, said in an interview with CNN on Monday that something is broken between our relations in Europe and the USA. Breton warned there was a growing feeling between allies in Europe during the past few weeks and there had been a lack of trust and confidence between them. I'm here again to make sure that we rebuild this partnership, even if in some areas we may need to pause and reset it, he added. Explainer: The nuclear deal between Australia and Japan fuels anger in the country. In the wake of the deal, France recalled its ambassadors from Washington and Canberra and asked the EU to reconsider Australia's bid for a free trade with the bloc. While Biden has asked for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in order to smooth relations, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Tuesday that he would not speak with Macron during the UN this week. That is an opportunity but not at this time. But right now, I understand the disappointment, Morrison said. Mr. Macron is not at the UN General Assembly for New York and will not prepare a pre-recorded address, a spokesperson confirmed to CNN Tuesday. He had originally been slated to deliver a pre-recorded statement. White House press secretary Biden told reporters Monday that Jen Psaki had agreed to speak in the coming days and, Biden would be well-known for this interview. In announcing the deal on Wednesday, Biden said AUKUS would strengthen alliances and it marks a major step toward countering China. Aber the trilateral partnership has alienated key European allies and now the bloc is calling for answers over France's treatment. In an exclusive interview with CNN on Monday, President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission said a lot of questions would be answered when it comes to the breakdown of the French-Australian submarine deal. Inside the creation of the U.S.-Australia submarine deal One of our member states has been treated in a way that is not acceptable, so we want to know what happened and why, von der Leyen said, adding that the situation must be clarified before you keep going with business as usual. From New York, where she will be attending UN General Assembly, von der Leyen went on to say that the EU will step up and build its defense. Many of our member states are members of NATO and NATO is the strongest military alliance in the world, but it is important to have a strong European pillar in NATO and to have the capacity to act independently in theaters where for example NATO is not, but the EU is called upon, she told Amanpour. In recent days, Von der Leyen is among a number of EU officials to express solidarity with France in the form of an official message. The European solidarity and support for the EU was very clear, amongst the leaders of the EU, France's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Cl ment Beaune, said on Tuesday comments by the President of the Commission, the President of the Council and the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs.