On Friday, October 29, President Biden kicked off his second trip to Europe. He met with Pope Francis, apologized to the French President for past deals, and attended multiple international conferences, including the COP 26 Climate Conference. Biden began his trip by meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican; their private discussion included their personal relationship, climate change, refugees, and income inequality. They discussed Biden’s Catholicism, which has recently been questioned by Catholic leaders across the United States saying he should not continue to receive holy communion because of his continued support of abortion rights. According to Biden, “We just talked about the fact he was happy that I was a good Catholic…and I should keep receiving communion.”

After his meeting with the pope, Biden worked on mending the relationship between the US and French President Emmanuel Macron after Biden was accused of “double dealing” in September. At the time, Biden struck a secret deal with Australia to provide them with nuclear submarines. This agreement betrayed a previously made submarine contract with France. Since this uproar, French officials have compared Biden to former President Trump, and have referred to his actions as the betrayal of an ally. Fortunately, Biden met with the French President where the conflict was resolved when he admitted his actions were “clumsy”.

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I shouldn’t apologize, but I do apologize for the fact the United States, the last administration, pulled out of the Paris Accords and put us sort of behind the eight ball a little bit.

— President Biden

Biden then went on to attend a Group of 20 (G20) summit where 20 heads of state gathered to discuss and debate important topics. Summits like this have been known to be a little pointless as they usually don’t have a concrete goal or agreement in mind. However, Biden said that his primary goal was to “have leaders fully put their blessing on the global minimum tax” along with reigning in Iran’s nuclear program, and getting the global supply chain running smoothing again.
After that, Biden headed to Glasgow, Scotland to attend COP26 which is a UN climate summit. While there, Biden gave an address describing the importance of taking action against climate change, and the positive effect it will have on jobs and the economy worldwide. During the summit, leaders discussed a range of climate issues occurring today and considered options for solutions.
On his second trip to Europe as President, Biden attended important meetings both personal and professional. Important information affecting the future of our planet was discussed and with all of this consideration significant things are sure to change across the world.