Washington - Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The European Commission in Brussels said through a statement that the Vice President for Values and Transparency, Vera Jourova, began a visit yesterday, Tuesday, to Washington, DC, and New York City in the United States. Joint efforts in combating disinformation and foreign interference and ensuring transparency and confidence in electoral processes will be discussed, in addition to cooperation between the European Union and the United States on a number of justice-related issues. It will discuss ways to enhance cooperation with the United States, especially when it comes to monitoring and analyzing the digital information field and supporting independent media.
The Vice President is scheduled to meet with US Attorney General Merrick Garland, with whom she will discuss the use of frozen and restricted Russian assets, electronic evidence and data flows, among other issues.
The Vice President will also meet with US Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Elizabeth Allen, and US Special Envoy and Coordinator of the US Center for Global Engagement, James Rubin, to share information on disinformation, manipulation and interference with foreign information.
Furthermore, Vice President Jourova will meet with representatives of the think tank Endowment for Democracy, where she will discuss ways to support independent media and human rights defenders. The Vice President will also meet with representatives of the World Bank and participate in an event at the Atlantic Council on information integrity and media freedom in the context of elections.
The Vice President will then travel to New York City, where she will speak at an event organized by the World Jewish Congress. On Thursday, she will also meet with U.S. Commissioner of the Federal Election Commission Dara Lindenbaum to discuss election integrity, protecting election infrastructure, and foreign interference. At the conclusion of the visit, Vice President Jourova will meet with UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, Melissa Fleming, to discuss online platforms, disinformation, hate speech, electoral integrity and media business models.