BERLIN ¨C Many state visits are empty, symbolic acts that have little to no policy content or lasting significance. But every now and then, such a visit changes the shape of international relations. Could French President Emmanuel Macron¡¯s recently concluded trip to London be one of them?
Macron¡¯s recent three-day trip, the first state visit to the United Kingdom by a European Union head of state since Brexit in 2020, had plenty of pomp and pageantry. But it also focused on policy and politics, which reflects a profound shift in the U.K.¡¯s circumstances since leaving the EU.
During the upheaval of the Brexit psychodrama, there was little interest in constructive exchange, and the U.K.¡¯s relationship with Europe remained defined by its lurching departure from the bloc. But nearly a decade on, Donald Trump is back in the White House and has launched a trade war on the world. Russian President Vladimir Putin has shredded the European security order. And Chinese President Xi Jinping has resorted to threats of economic coercion ¡ª a striking reversal from the ¡°golden era¡± of U.K.-China relations proclaimed in 2015.
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