Chicago, 5 December 2022
Member of the European Parliament Željana Zovko is currently in Chicago, the last stop of her visit to the US as Vice President of the EPP Group in the European Parliament in charge of relations with US Congress. The mission started last week with bilateral meetings in Washington DC, followed with her participation in the Transatlantic Legislators Dialogue. Zovko met with legislators, think tanks and business community to enhance EU-US cooperation and to strengthen transatlantic parliamentary relations between the EPP Group and American partners.
In Washington DC, Zovko met with representatives of the Atlantic Council, CSIS and Heritage Foundation to discuss the American vision on European policies. Zovko had also bilateral talks with Republican Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart and Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace with whom she exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine, security in Europe and the EU-US cooperation on energy and economy.
On 1 December, Zovko was invited as guest speaker at the States & Nation Policy Summit of ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council. She took the floor on the conference on Joint Federalism and International Relations and presented her views on EU-US Relations and Transatlantic Bridge Building. In the margins of this summit, Zovko met with US legislators on national and state level.
During Zovko’s visit to the US, she also participated in the European Parliament’s delegation to the Transatlantic Legislators Dialogue, which took place in the US Congress and at Mount Vernon. In its 85th meeting, the delegations of EU and US legislators debated about the war in Ukraine and transatlantic security and defence capabilities. Other agenda items were discussions on economic and democratic reform in the EU’s Eastern neighbourhood, the upcoming Trade and Technology Council, inflation and energy security for both transatlantic partners.
The last leg of Zovko’s mission takes place in Chicago where she is meeting the Croatian Consul General and Croatian diaspora, as well as representatives of the business community, American diplomats, academics and a former senior trade advisor to President Georges H. W. Bush.
