Ahead of the inauguration of Joe Biden as new US President later today, the Socialists and Democrats express their belief in the strength of American democracy, and the capacity of the new American leadership to overcome the unprecedented polarisation of US politics.

The S&D Group is ready to start work on a new strong transatlantic alliance between progressive forces, and to build a new multilateral global order.

S&D leader Iratxe García Pérez MEP said in the plenary:  

“President Joe Biden and vice-president Kamala Harris now have the task of healing wounds and overcoming polarisation to bridge the divide left by Donald Trump. Extreme-right rhetoric has spread xenophobia, racism, misogyny, anti-Semitism, climate-change denial and anti-vaccination activism.  Nationalistic populism is growing in all Western democracies, and we must fight it.

“Another challenge that we share with the Biden-Harris administration is the reconstruction of a multilateral system that ensures the respect of democratic rules and institutions. We Social Democrats are fully committed to revitalising the transatlantic association. We must come up with joint strategies in the frame of the Paris Agreement on the climate emergency, the nuclear deal with Iran, the World Health Organisation, the World Trade Organisation and NATO. The transatlantic agenda and the EU’s agenda are complementary, so let’s not fall into false dichotomies. A strategically autonomous Union would be the best partner for the United States.”

Tonino Picula MEP, EP rapporteur on US relations and S&D spokesperson on foreign affairs, added:

“For seventy years, the international order, the representation of democratic values has been based on cooperation between the USA and the EU.  For the last four years, we have lost our transatlantic partner.

“Our hopes and expectations are that the new administration will seek to refresh our relations on what we are - allies in working together for a multilateral system, based on fair rules, shared values, democracy and rule of law. However, the EU has to strive to re-define the relationship as one where both partners see eye to eye. That also requires bigger investments from our side. Where we agree, we should act together; where we disagree, we should negotiate our differences and reach mutually beneficial solutions. We are ready to start renewing our transatlantic alliance immediately.

“The United States are much more worthy than the events we witnessed two weeks ago and I firmly believe that our partnership can be much better than it is today.”