US to give way to China?

Dagur B. Eggertsson, Member of Parliament and Chairman of the NATO Department of NATO, says it is creating increased scope for Chinese in international affairs if the United States retires in some parts of the world.

It has been argued that the Chinese are trying to strengthen their position through international organizations and that they are even reshaping that system.

Asked if he agrees, and whether it is perhaps the cause of the Trump government, including in customs, Dagur says it is not easy to answer.

Contrary to what was intended

« I'm not going to say that. Regarding China, it can also be wondered that if the West and the United States withdraw from these international organizations, out of development cooperation and out of multilateral support for other parts of the world, then it also leaves a great deal of scope and opportunities for the Chinese, contrary to what was intended.

You have been mayor. How do you prepare for foreign affairs?

« Before I went into politics, I actually took a master's degree in human rights and international law from the University of Lund in 2005. So I have always been watching attention and interest in international and international language, although I do not deny that it has increased tremendously recently. « 

Was supposed to promote peace

How is the international system today compared to the system you learned?

« The big picture is that the system set up in the wake of World War II, and was intended to learn from it and prevent war and promote peace by setting rules of play in nations and states and agencies to manage it, is not flawless. However, there are many parts of it.

And the world is much more peaceful and better with these institutions than without them. There, I would like to mention the United Nations System, Health and Education Cooperation and Economic and Progress Institute, the OECD, which was actually created around an international organization that was assigned to perform the Marshall Aid and rebuild Western Europe after the war, « says Dagur.

Contrary to what was intended

He continues:

« The European Union was also established, as an Economic Community to ensure and promote the peace and transport of nations in Europe. Last but not least, it is NATO and the European Defense Alliance and the United States and Canada who, of course, have played a key role in securing peace with defense cooperation.

We Icelanders have actually been participants in all these institutions from the beginning, if the EU is excluded. We are late in European cooperation, which can be said to have been part of this. What is happening now is that there is perhaps more uncertain about individual aspects of international cooperation than before and certain glances are on the air. For example, Americans have gone out of the World Health Organization and various similar things could start to get pretty fast, ”he says.

Xi Jinping Chinese President.

AFP

European leaders to answer the call

« The Americans have notified that they are looking at the future within more agencies and so we have all been watching the debate on Ukraine's issues and those statements. So it can be said that since there was previously great predictability, clear vision and policy and high consensus, for example within NATO, there is now more uncertainty than before and of course it is quite clear that Europe is required to take more burdens on defense, « says Dagur.

« That is what the European leaders are good at answering, as we see from their number of meetings recently, where advice on how to respond to the scenario and a changed position. »