Despite choosing not to send a delegation to the G-20 summit in Johannesburg, the shadow of US President Donald Trump loomed over the annual meeting of the world's twenty most powerful economies. Ultimatum in Ukraine to accept a biased peace plan The US's proposal to Russia, announced a couple of days ago, has shaped the summit's proceedings, particularly for representatives of European countries, who held a parallel meeting to discuss a common response. South Africa, the host country, secured the approval of a joint declaration focused on climate change, a significant blow to Trump, who had demanded that attendees not sign any document without US representation. Hours before the summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held telephone conversations with several leaders to discuss Trump's peace proposal. These included British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and French President Emmanuel Macron. According to Reuters, these top officials from the three European powerhouses held an initial meeting in Johannesburg to coordinate their positions. Later, the meeting expanded to include the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen of Germany, and the President of the European Council, António Costa of Portugal, as well as the leaders of Finland, Norway, Spain, and the Netherlands.

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, has quickly found the complicity he was looking for on European soil. This Thursday, in the prelude to the G-7 summit that meets on Friday in the English city of Cornwall, the European Union has made explicit its support to the American administration to ask the World Health Organization (WHO) for a new investigation into the origin of covid-19. "The world has the right to know exactly what happened", said the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, together with the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, who in turn called on China to give investigators access to all relevant information. This is further proof of the revival of transatlantic relations between Europe and the United States, which want to stand shoulder to shoulder against the Asian giant.