Geoffrey Harris, deputy head of the European Parliament Liaison Office with the United States Congress, will speak at Samford University on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 4 p.m. in the Howard Room of Beeson University Center.

His topic will be “The European Union After the 2014 European Parliament Elections: Challenges and Opportunities.” A reception will follow the lecture.

The European Parliament's Liaison Office with the U.S. Congress, located in Washington, D.C., is intended to strengthen cooperation between legislators in the U.S. and the European Union and to provide information to the public in the U.S.

Harris has served the European Parliament since 1976, working in a variety of positions. Prior to moving into his present post in 2012, he was head of the Human Rights Unit within the Secretariat General of the European Parliament.

A graduate of the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, he is a regular lecturer and participant in academic conferences. Harris is the author of a book, The Dark Side of Europe: The Extreme Right Today, published in 1993.