Brexit makes Britain 'less useful to the US,' says former top diplomat

[Klaralven]

LONDON — Britain is no longer Europe’s “center of gravity” in the eyes of America — and particularly if Joe Biden is elected president next month — according to former senior diplomat and cross-bench peer Peter Ricketts.

After 40 years defending Britain’s interests in the world, Ricketts offered a sobering interpretation of the impact Brexit is having on the U.K.’s international standing.

“When Biden looks towards Europe, he will see Paris and Berlin more as the center of gravity of what’s really important for America in Europe, both economically and in security terms, and Britain will be seen rather as an outlier, rather outside the mainstream of Europe,” he said.

“There will continue to be an important bilateral relationship on defense and security of course, but in other areas, Britain will not have the same prominence it has been used to having in Washington because, frankly, Britain is less useful to the U.S. administration.”

https://www.politico.eu/article/post-brexit-britain-no-longer-europes-center-of-gravity-for-us/

There are two effects.

Britain can no longer operate as the United State's cats paw within the EU to shape EU politics and finance.

Britain can no longer deter the EU from greater unification and becoming a true regional power.

[Mike 03]

1. IMO it is vital that the EU have greater unification and become a true regional power.

I have no clue why we'd dare to obstruct this. Russia and China are taking advantage of confusion in Western democracies--US and Europe--due to vacuums and uncertainties and foreign meddling.

We need moral leadership in the US but also in the EU to tackle global warming and the perilous rise in anti-democratic movements. We need to get on the same page. And I hope the EU can snuff out the dangerous rise in populism evidenced in Hungary and Poland, and have some recourse when faced with illiberal, fascist demagogues like Matteo Salvini in Italy.

Much depends on this.

[Klaralven]

2. The US view is that NATO is the only appropriate defense and foreign policy organization for Europe

And since we dominate NATO, we dominate European defense and foreign policy.

We have consistently opposed, via the UK, the creation of a unified EU military capability.

There is a High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, but he has little influence over setting foreign policy and can only speak to matters on which there is general agreement among the member states.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. One thing in which the EU foreign policy office was notable was the Iran agreement

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Comprehensive_Plan_of_Action

The JCPOA is called an agreement between the P5+1+EU and Iran - P5 being the Security Council permanent members, and "+1" being Germany. Of course Trump, and most Republicans, hate that deal, and would be unlikely to want more involvement of the EU High Rep and their office in world affairs. But they have the ability to influence things for the good, if the USA will work with them again.

[OnDoutside]

4. I had to check that this wasn't from 4 years ago, when Obama told them exactly that. The Empire is

long gone, but Britain is going to finally find that out, which might not be a bad thing in the long run.

p.s. if they ever were to re-join the EU, it will be as a junior member and all the extra power they had will be gone.