Franqueira Rodrigues is organizing a debate in the second half of 2025 in the Azores with legislators, academics, and political representatives from both sides of the Atlantic.
André Franqueira Rodrigues met today in Ponta Delgada with Margaret C. Campbell, the US Consul for the Azores. They discussed the prospects for US-EU relations following President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The MEP, a member of the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with the US, said: “The new US President’s mandate will certainly bring new challenges to the transatlantic relationship. But that’s precisely why we need to strengthen the mechanisms for listening and creating understanding.”
“Based first and foremost on the example of the Azores and Portugal, this is a historic partnership, based on values and very strong human and institutional ties, which will therefore also have to find ways of building relationships that put general interests above particular ones.”
“The EU also has to look at itself and assert its interests and objectives in a constructive but assertive way,” added Franqueira Rodrigues.
The Azorean took the opportunity to present to the US Consul the Forum he intends to organize in the Azores in the second half of this year. The forum will bring together legislators, political representatives, and academics to deepen the debate on the US-EU relationship, and he invited the Consul and the future U.S. ambassador to join.
Finally, André Franqueira Rodrigues stressed his concern about the reality of the Portuguese community, mostly Azorean, present in the US in the face of possible future deportation scenarios.

From PS Press Release

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.