Germany Honours Biden For His Contribution to Trans-Atlantic Ties

Germany honored U.S. President Joe Biden for his contribution to trans-Atlantic relations on Friday, ahead of his meetings with European allies on Russia’s war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East.

Biden received the highest class of Germany’s Order of Merit, which was also bestowed on former U.S. President George H.W. Bush for his support of German reunification.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier pointed to Biden’s interest in Germany going back more than four decades. He said the friendship with the U.S. is “and will always be existentially important” for Germany, but there have always been “times of proximity and greater distance.”

“Even recently, just a handful of years ago, the distance had grown so wide that we almost lost each other,” Steinmeier said, in an allusion to tense relations during Trump’s earlier presidency. He said Biden “restored Europe’s hope in the trans-Atlantic alliance literally overnight.”

Biden thanked German leaders for their role in helping Ukraine against the Russian invasion.

“We cannot let up,” he said. “We must sustain our support; in my view, we must keep going until Ukraine wins a just and durable peace.”

Biden didn’t want his term to end without visiting Berlin, after having been to visit other key allies such as Japan, South Korea, France, India, the United Kingdom, Poland and Ukraine.

Biden plans to meet later Friday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Biden and Scholz will later meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer before the U.S. president jets home late Friday afternoon.

Biden and Scholz plan to discuss next steps in Ukraine and developments in Israel and Gaza after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. They also intend to touch on Lebanon and Iran, and coordinate their approaches to China as well as their respective industrial and innovation strategies. The pair are also set to talk about the development of artificial intelligence and renewable energy resources.