The President of the European Parliament will visit Washington next week for high-level talks on U.S.-European relations and other issues. "We have many ideas for revitalizing our relations," President Jerzy Buzek said Monday, as the European delegation office in Washington announced his schedule of meetings. Buzek, a former prime minister of Poland, will hold talks with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.; Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat; and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat. On his first visit as the presiding officer of the Parliament, Buzek also will address the Transatlantic Policy Network, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Johns Hopkins University, and will hold a 3 p.m. news conference Tuesday at the National Press Club. Buzek said the "central purpose" of his visit is to "build a much closer" partnership between the European Parliament and Congress. "We can and should work together in facing the big challenges that confront us across the Atlantic, from climate change to energy security, from maintaining free trade to improving global governance," he said. Buzek, whose position as presiding officer is similar to Mrs. Pelosi's, said he hopes to tap into President Obama's popularity in Europe to help promote those goals. "We want to use the Obama moment to build a vibrant partnership that offers hope and leadership in an uncertain world,"Buzek said.
