Brussels, 10 June 2021
Next week, the leaders of the European Union will host the President of the United States in Brussels. It will be the first US-EU Summit since 2014 and aims at underlining the importance of the transatlantic partnership. The Summit is part of President Biden’s first trip overseas during which he will also participate in a G7 Summit, a NATO summit and a bilateral meeting with Russian President Putin.
„The new US administration shows a clear willingness to engage with the European Union and this visit of President Biden offers an opportunity to align our agendas and enhance our cooperation,“ said Željana Zovko, Member of the European Parliament and EPP Shadow standing rapporteur for the relations with the United States. „Many global challenges require a global answer in which the EU and the US can take the lead. Together we must fight the Covid-19 pandemic, promote democracy and human rights, tackle climate change, and restore multilateralism,“ Zovko stated.
Aside from these challenges, Zovko says that the leaders will also have to discuss the cooperation in security and defence. „The EU’s ambition to develop a strategic autonomy shouldbe compatible with the functioning of NATO, in which the US still plays a key role.“ she said and added that the EU and US should also coordinate their policies in relation with regions as the Western Balkans and the European neighbourhood, as well as regarding China and Russia.
According to Zovko, other issues that should be on the transatlantic agenda are the facilitation of free trade and the cooperation in science, technologies and education. „the digitalisation of our lives calls for clear policies on issues suchas artificial intelligence, data protection and cyber security. Our citizens and economies would benefit if regulators and legislators from both sides of the Atlantic would be on the same wavelength.“ Zovko stated.