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Joe Biden will travel to the UK and Belgium in his first overseas trip as US President in June as he tries to rejuvenate transatlantic relations. The White House said Mr Biden would attend the G7 summit in Cornwall, UK, and hold bilateral meetings with other leaders, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson. After that, the President will travel to the NATO summit in Brussels, before attending a US-EU summit.

Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, said Mr Biden’s trip would “reinforce” the US’s commitment to multilateralism, as well as nato and the principle of collective defence.

The Biden administration has made clear it would like to see a revitalisation of the western military alliance, which had been undermined by factors including Donald Trump’s attacks, criticism by French President Emmanuel Macron and tensions over Turkey.

As anticipation for his trips mount, unearthed reports shed light on his first speech to the European Parliament more than a decade ago.

It is not unheard of Mr Biden to get lost in the moment, but as he addressed MEPs in 2010, his flattery of the host went a bit overboard.

The then vice president, opening his address in Belgium, argued that Brussels – considering its rich history and abundance of international institutions – could become the “capital of the free world.”

He suggested that Washington D.C was undeserving of that title – notwithstanding its wealth of global organisations and the countless international summits that take place there.

He said: “As you probably know, some American politicians and American journalists refer to Washington D.C as the ‘capital of the free world.

“But it seems to me that in this great city, which boasts 1,000 years of history and which serves as the capital of Belgium, the home of the European Union, and the headquarters for NATO, this city has its own legitimate claim to that title.”

Mr Biden’s comments might have been seen as a snub to London, as well.

The UK’s capital is one of the world’s oldest cities, with a near-2000 year history.

At the time, the City of London and Brussels were also engaged in a battle over financial services.

In 2010, the EU’s former chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, was appointed European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services and was asked to clean up Europe’s financial services sector.

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In Britain, Mr Barnier immediately faced criticism.

According to a 2010 report by the Daily Telegraph, the main accusation appeared to be that the former French minister was more likely to side with then-president Nicolas Sarkozy than he was with the leaders of London’s under-pressure finance sector.

As the publication put it, “the Frenchman was seen as a threat”.

The UK’s fears appear to have been justified, too.

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In a 2011 Financial Times report, EU correspondent Alex Barker noted how the myriad of Brussels proposals had left Britain’s financial world reeling and ministers saw such measures hurting the sector or crimping UK regulatory powers.

That nervousness reportedly burst into the open, with David Cameron moaning about the City being “constantly under attack”.

For the former Prime Minister – and figures from the UK’s financial industry – the problem was not one single issue but rather a worrying trend.

Anthony Belchambers, chief executive of the London-based Futures and Options Association told the publication at the time: “Red tape, ill-informed tax initiatives, protectionist policies and high ‘pass on’ costs will damage the international reach of the City.”

Mr Barnier always dismissed complaints against him as “nonsense”.

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