Biden and Merkel set to meet this week

July 11, 2021: President Joe Biden is slated to discuss an array of pressing issues with German Chancellor Angela Merkel next week, in what may be her last trip to Washington after nearly 16 years at the helm of Europe’s largest economy.

The two leaders are expected to share their concerns on the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, the steady drumbeat of cyberattacks, ending the Covid-19 pandemic, long-standing trade issues and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

“From the German perspective, this will be a working visit,” a senior German government official explained, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss details of the chancellor’s trip to Washington.

Throughout his administration, former President Donald Trump frequently dressed down NATO allies and partners. He threatened to reduce U.S. military support to NATO if allies did not increase spending. In 2019, Trump singled out Merkel for not meeting the 2% of GDP spending goal that was set at the 2014 NATO summit in Wales.

Merkel’s July 15 visit to the White House, the third time a foreign leader has met with Biden in Washington since he became president, comes a few months before Germany’s national election. Merkel, the first woman to lead Germany, has previously said she plans to step down after the September elections.

“We are all following what is happening,” a senior German government official said, referencing stunning battlefield advances the Taliban has made since foreign troops began the withdrawal process. “Whatever happens to the airport in Kabul will be hugely important,” the official said, adding that Germany is the second-largest donor to Afghanistan behind the United States.

In April, Biden ordered the full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September 11, effectively ending America’s longest war. On Thursday, Biden gave an updated timeline and said that the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will end by August 31.

“We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build,” Biden said Thursday in remarks at the White House. “It’s up to the Afghans to make decisions about the future of their country,” he added.

Biden and Merkel are also expected to discuss an alarming number of cyberattacks that have shown the potential of reaching across multiple industries and international borders. The latest ransomware attack, disclosed last week by Florida-based software provider Kaseya, spread to six European countries and breached the networks of thousands across the United States. The Russian-language hacking group REvil has taken responsibility for the cyberattack on Kaseya. The full scope of the ransomware attack is not yet known.

In May, a hacking group known as DarkSide with suspected ties to Russian criminals launched a ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline, forcing the U.S. company to shut down approximately 5,500 miles of pipeline. It led to a disruption of nearly half of the East Coast’s fuel supply and caused gasoline shortages in the Southeast and airline disruptions.

Less than a month after the cyber assault on Colonial Pipeline, Brazil’s JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker announced that it had fallen victim to a ransomware attack. The breach disrupted meat production in North America and Australia, triggering concerns over rising meat prices.

The company ultimately paid $11 million in ransom to a different Russian-based cybercriminal group, but not before it briefly shut down its entire U.S. operation.

Biden will likely raise concerns over the completion of a sprawling undersea pipeline that will pump Russian gas directly into Germany.

The $11 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline deal comes as the Biden administration works to repair strained ties between Berlin and Washington following Trump’s term. If completed, Nord Stream 2 will stretch 764-miles, making it one of the longest offshore gas pipelines in the world. Last month, the Kremlin said that only 62 miles of pipeline were left to build.

In May, the United States waived sanctions on the Swiss-based company Nord Stream 2 AG, which is running the pipeline project, and its German chief executive. The waiver gives Berlin and Washington three more months to reach an agreement on Nord Stream 2.

“We’re still talking and we are serious about it,” the official said.

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