No one can accuse European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek (EPP, Poland) of being under-exposed in his visit to the United States this week. At last count, there were twenty-four events pencilled into his programme on 26-30 April. They include meetings in Washington DC with US Vice-President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. In New York, on 30 April, he will meet United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The contrast could hardly be greater between Buzek’s high-profile appearance blitz and the low-key nature of European Council President Herman Van Rompuy’s visit to Washington, on 12-13, April for the Nuclear Security Summit. But whereas Van Rompuy avoided Washington’s academics, lawmakers and media, he did meet with the leaders of 47 countries, including summit host Barack Obama. Buzek does not have a meeting with the US president on his programme.

Buzek’s trip is an effort to put the Parliament firmly on the radar of the US Congress and administration. He will formally inaugurate the EP’s new liaison office, which has been functioning since January 2010, staffed with three EP officials from Brussels. He will meet a host of EU-relevant people on Capitol Hill, give keynote speeches at universities, a general press conference, and meet with the US Chamber of Commerce and an IMF official. “We favour upgrading our institutional relations by creating a Transatlantic Parliamentary Assembly,” said Buzek. “We want to use the ‘Obama moment’ to build a vibrant partnership that offers hope and leadership in an uncertain world.” The policy areas he singled out for cooperation were climate change, energy security, free trade and global governance.