 And let's move now to our debate with Vice President Franz Timmermans. Dear Vice President, when we last welcome you to our plenary, we gave you our full support for the Green Deal. Since then, the pandemic spread throughout Europe and local and regional governments since have been fighting to save lives and jobs. The Green Deal is even more important today than ever before. We cannot, and we will not, let the pandemic hinder our investment in protecting our environment. We need a green, just and resilient recovery for all regions and cities. This must be Europe's turning point. We must act together and accelerate the transition towards a sustainable economy and society. Dear Vice President, dear friends, the MFF and Recovery Plans are exceptional and represent the true spirit of European solidarity. This is our shared priority and our common responsibility. We see the Green Deal going local as an opportunity to demonstrate the real added value of the European Union. For people living in regions, cities, villages, and it needs to be inclusive, and we all need to take ownership. Vice President, I want to share with you a small collection of 200 real green projects that were developed by our committee's members. You will see in this work that we have done how Oulu in Finland is using Horizon 2020 to support green technology to reduce and reuse energy used in buildings. You will also discover how the dynamic light project brought central European municipalities together to improve public lighting. The impact is clear. For the creation of Chacovec, energy consumption fell by 65%, and it saved 56 tons of CO2 emissions. You will learn how the Italian region of Marche used cohesion funds enabling small municipalities to receive grants and loans guaranteed to update their bus fleets and retrofit public building. All these examples show that the Green Deal is not starting new, but building on decades of positive change by local and regional governments. Let me express my support for the 55% 2030 climate target. It is not only feasible, Vice President, it is necessary. The proposed MFF and recovery plans will put the wind in our sails, but it is our regions, our cities and villages, that are the engines that will propel us forward towards climate neutrality. Dear friends, our members and I are determined to shape the Climate Act. We are ready to build a network of elected climate, local and regional leaders in all EU member states. We want to work with you to place the Green Deal at the heart of national and regional governments investment plans. Today, let us reinforce this cooperation that has started between our two institutions. Let us commit to developing a joint European Commission Committee of the region's action plan. The purpose is to give local and regional governments the support, knowledge and access to EU funds to make the EU Green Deal tangible for their communities, because building energy-sufficient schools and hospitals will cut emissions, create green jobs, making our transport cleaner and mobility smarter, protecting our natural habitat. These are some of the essential areas that fall under our competencies. These are clear actions we are committed to working together. Dear Vice President, we need to act today to save lives, jobs and, of course, our planet tomorrow. We are offering you the leadership and trust of our local and regional governments. So let's launch this cooperation today together. So we deliver on our promises to our citizens and our children. The floor is yours. Thank you. Vice President Timmermans, the floor is yours. I seem to have ... Am I on now? Because I keep on pushing the button, but it's ... Yes, you are. Okay. I have to start from the beginning? Yes. Yes. I have to start from the beginning because we just got to now. Ah, okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. I have to say, you know, what I love is to see all the people signing in from all across the European Union. All these wonderful regions and cities that I love so much, I love to visit and love to be there. This is where Europe is, in those cities and those regions. Not in this building. Not in your building. It's there. And we're working what we're doing. We're doing for the people out there. That's why I would like to underline the words you spoke in saying that we need to cooperate. We are faced with an unprecedented challenge. Of course, COVID is throwing us curveballs every day. When we think we're recovering, we're going back in the wrong way, etc. And, you know, we all need you wherever you are to convince every single citizen that following the guidelines the authorities are giving is the only way out of this pandemic. It only takes a small group of people who ignore the guidelines to keep the pandemic alive and to keep the disease, to continue the spreading of the disease. So we really need everyone's effort to contain the pandemic. But in this pandemic, the other challenges have not gone. We're in the middle of an industrial revolution that has the potential to create huge upheaval in our economy, wherever you are, in whatever job you have, in whatever industry you work. And then, of course, there is the climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis. There's the changing international relationships. All of this comes together. Now, the good thing is that Europe has shown an unprecedented level of solidarity in deciding to mobilize at the European level enough funds for us to recover from the economic effects of the COVID crisis. But we have to make sure we do this in a way that is consistent with our need to tackle the climate crisis as well. So that's why for us at the European Commission, the Green Deal is also the roadmap we need to get out of the crisis. We're going to be spending a lot of money that we're going to take out of the market. And sooner or later, that money will have to be put back, re-earned. And it can only happen if our economy is future-proof. And the only future-proof economy we have is an economy that is sustainable, that ends our dependency on fossil fuels, that reduces our emissions, et cetera, et cetera. I've seen the priorities your committee has put on the table, the three priorities, which is the renovation wave, clean transport, and greening cities. The Commission fully subscribes to those priorities. Let me start with the renovation wave. We will be launching our renovation wave tomorrow, actually. And the renovation wave is a unique opportunity to reduce emissions, so that would reduce your energy bill, to improve the quality of our housing, and not just the private housing, also the community housing, but also schools and other buildings of general purpose. It will immediately create jobs for small and medium-sized enterprises, and it will create a sense of optimism, I believe, for many citizens who will see that they will be part of this development, and that they will have benefits from this development. I say this because one of the biggest fears I have in all of this. In any time of huge transformation, tectonic change, and we're living in times of tectonic change, there's always a risk of people losing out, of people not being able to follow the developments of some people winning and a lot of people losing. And the renovation wave is one way to make sure that we tackle the challenge of energy poverty in the right way. So the renovation wave, which you subscribe to, which we subscribe to, should bring us closer together to work concretely on projects, because it has to happen in communities and in cities and villages and regions, so we need to work directly with you to make it happen. There are a number of successful initiatives already across the European Union, but by far not enough, and not at a scale that is big enough. We need to double our efforts, double our efforts in terms of renovation, installation of buildings, putting solar panels on buildings, making sure all buildings are on broadband and bringing 5G, changing the transport infrastructure, et cetera. We need to do all that, and it can be done, and we will mobilize the funds, but you need to be an integral part of that. Clean transport, I get this requirement from all over the European Union. Wherever you are in the European Union, almost all cities say we want zero emission public transport. I think this is something we need to work on. And also I believe this is so important, because another divide I fear, and this goes very much to the heart of your committee. Another divide I really fear is the increasing divide. It's almost a chasm now between urban areas and rural areas. This is a global phenomenon, because there is a huge movement of urbanization globally, especially to very big cities where a lot of people who see a lot of opportunity go to, but that sometimes leads to a brain drain in more rural areas. And also the economy develops along the lines of urban areas and less on rural areas. Because at the end of the day, urban areas will not be vibrant without the support of vibrant rural areas. And rural areas need the feedback from urban areas also to be able to follow the developments into this new economy. So we need to prevent the chasm, the divide between urban and rural areas to become bigger. We need to close that. I think modern technology, digitization, can really help there. I also believe people want to live healthier lives, and for that we need rural areas. People need a different sort of agriculture closer to the people's needs, healthier, etc. We need rural areas. And rural areas will have to provide some of the important carbon sink that we need to be able to arrive at climate neutrality in 2050. And transport is essential for that relationship. So we need to up the ante on bringing electric mobility to the people. We need to help the automotive industry go there quicker so that electric mobility becomes less expensive and more accessible to ordinary people, which is something we really need. So we need to build an infrastructure of charging stations. We want to do that and invest in that together with you. It's extremely important that we do that. We need to further develop the hydrogen economy, so for the heavier transport we can create zero emission vehicles with fuel cells driven by hydrogen. I think that's a very promising development. And for that we need to produce hydrogen, clean hydrogen, green hydrogen. For that we need electrolyzers. And our plans are to create six gigawatts of capacity three years down the line. And in 10 years' time we want to be at 40 gigawatts capacity for hydrogen. With the surrounding countries in North Africa and Eastern Europe we could even perhaps attain 80 gigawatts of capacity. That would be a huge change. Then of course we need to green our cities. Today in Europe every year 400,000 people die prematurely because of bad air quality. And especially in those member states and regions where coal is still the primary source of energy. We need to help that transition happen. These regions cannot do that on their own. They need strong support through the Just Transition Fund and other means from the European Union. Take Silesia and Poland for instance, or other regions in the Czech Republic and Poland and Bulgaria, etc. in Germany. They really need to transit out of coal and they need our support. Mr. President, let me take your own home country as a perfect example of this. The audacity, the audacity of the Greek authorities to get out of Lignite so quickly is a good example for the rest of Europe. An example that should be followed and admired. But the regions that go out of the Lignite production will then of course need another possibility and other potential. And for that Europe should be stand ready to help those regions on the basis of their own ideas and their own plans. Greening of Europe, let me emphasise that, is not only a matter of cities but starting to green cities. When you green your cities, so decarbonising public transport, having more bike lanes, managing mobility better, creating more accessibility through bike lanes, through walking paths, etc. This is something citizens want across the European Union. And if you add greening to that, you hugely improve living quality in cities. But greening is not something you need to limit to cities. Many of our forests in the European Union are in a horrible shape and they need to be upgraded. We are losing carbon sink today, we are losing biodiversity today. By upgrading our forests, by upgrading our grasslands, by upgrading our peatlands, we increase carbon sink and we absolutely improve biodiversity as well. So how can we work together? Let me just give you quickly three thoughts. First we as commission are already working with the Covenant of Mayors to deliver concrete actions. We have brought together something like 9,000 mayors who take action for the climate. Your committee can certainly bring added value to the initiatives and also ensure that we align our actions in cities and rural communities. As I said before, this is one of my top priorities. So that's why I believe the Committee of the Regents should get a direct seat on the political board of the Covenant of Mayors. And I commit to that before you today, Mr. President. In that new context, we will start a new phase of collaboration between our two institutions. Our services can meet ahead of meetings of the Covenant of Mayors and also after the meetings of the Covenant can sort of compare notes and see how we move forward. We can inform you then in those meetings on upcoming funding calls that are relevant for your projects. And finally, I believe and you and I, Mr. President, discussed that before, that the committee should be a key part of our climate pact that will launch later this year. This pact is about bringing citizens together to share knowledge on climate change. Active citizens can become climate ambassadors and create grassroots projects for climate action. And I would like to invite your committee, Mr. President, today to be our channel for your members who become climate ambassadors under our climate pact. So in conclusion, Mr. President, this is my offer of cooperation. I say this also for very selfish reasons because we wouldn't get anything done without local and regional authorities being on board and being fully informed and being fully engaged. Your regions and your cities will make the difference in the Green Deal. I'm fully aware of that. And we need your links, your direct links to our citizens to also keep them fully engaged. We are doing this not for ourselves. We're doing this for our children and for our grandchildren. And I think, honestly, as a citizen, there is nothing more noble than putting the interest of future generations before your own. That's why we need to make this transition now in the Green Deal. That's why we can make it happen and I count on your help and your support to make this a reality. Thank you very much, Mr. President. Thank you, Vice President Timmermans. Dear Frank, one more time, your presence in our committee was really very interesting and very important. And I say that because I really want to thank you for all of your proposals that were right to the point. We will have our teams work together in order to see how we will move forward towards implementing these very interesting proposals. And it's true, and I keep this from what you said, that Green Deal has many reasons that we need to make it happen now. But the most important one is the outcomes and the results of the climate change that we are witnessing all across Europe and all across the world today. The disasters that are happening constantly. For example, last week we had the disasters in France and Italy. We even have communication with the President of the Region of Provence, Côte d'Azur on the disasters they had some days ago. In Greece we had awful disasters the previous months and the same goes to other countries as well, basically the ones that are located in the Mediterranean area. We need to move forward with the Green Deal now. We need to address climate change. We have no more time to lose. So thank you very much Vice President Timmermans for underlying this aspect of the need to move forward today, not tomorrow. Let me proceed now with our members and I would like to give the floor to Moreno Bonilla. Yes, Mr. Vice President of the European Commission, Mr. President of the Committee of the Region, ladies and gentlemen members of the Committee of the Region. Let's talk today about a topic that depends on the European society that we want for the future. Taking measures in front of climate change is an urgent challenge that I consider that we all share. Climate change and its effects are for the Andalusian government, my region, a complete absolute priority. And so we have assumed it with an ambitious and unprecedented action by the climate that we have called the Green Revolution. It cannot be otherwise, our great biological diversity, our geostrategic position and a very linked economy, our natural heritage, force us to do so. In addition, as a member of the Committee of the Region, I have had the honor to assume the appointment of the Dictamen on the European Law on Climate Change, a Dictamen that adopted in the middle of last month of July for a vast majority of 197 votes in favor. We all know that the European Law on Climate Change is one of the pillars of the European Green Pact that today we debate and an urgent framework key in the configuration of the European economy for the next decades. Precisely, in relation to the European Law on Climate Change, it allows me to recall two recommendations that our Dictamen contained. The first, that the Dictamen received the objective for 2030, of a reduction of missions of at least 55% in comparison with the levels of 1990. At this point, a adoption of the most ambitious objective can be unbeatable and even have a negative effect not desired in the European economy. For this reason, we hope that the trampling of the bill's proposals will finally impose the common sense and the sensate in this area. The second, the regions and cities of Europe are going to play a key role in the application of the policies understood in the framework of climate law. For this reason, it is necessary that they take into account, that they take into account their opinions when considering the review of the trajectory towards climate neutrality and that they are advocated for a direct assignment of funds that have to be well calibrated for the measures adapted to regional and local scale. I think there are two crucial recommendations and that my judgment must be taken into account in the inter-institutional debate in which the project of European Climate Law is immersed. Finally, I would like to thank the possibility of participating in this intense and positive debate and I am also convinced that, among all, we are going to make Europe a leader in this energy transition and in this struggle for climate change. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. I want to say that I really appreciate the very hard and important work that you have done in our committee and especially concerning the climate law of which you are the rapporteur of the Committee of the Regions. And I'm really looking forward in working with you in the near future towards attaining these goals. Let me move now to giving the floor to Sejas Espadas, our colleague, please. Buenos días, señor presidente del Comité de Regiones. Buenos días también al vicepresidente Timmermans. En nombre de todos los componentes, en este caso del Grupo Socialista, quiero que tengo algún problema con la cámara ahora. Pueden verme? Sí. Como les decía, en nombre de todos los componentes del Grupo Socialista, quiero decirles señor Timmermans en primer lugar que estamos agradecidos a su liderazgo en relación con convertir el pacto verde europeo en uno de los ejes de los pilares centrales de la estrategia de recuperación, de reconstrucción de la Unión Europea en estos momentos de pandemia. Creo que como se ha dicho aquí, en estos momentos las regiones y ciudades del proyecto europeo estamos preocupados en salir de esta crisis sanitaria, pero también ocupados en intentar acelerar los cambios y las transformaciones que tienen que producirse necesariamente en relación con nuestro entorno para poder asegurar la vida en el planeta. Por tanto, el pacto verde europeo, que sin duda es un proyecto ambicioso, un gran reto, debe ser un proyecto inclusivo, debe ser un proyecto que tanto social como desde el punto de vista ecológico, permita a la Unión Europea avanzar en un proyecto de el que podamos sentirnos orgullosos en los próximos años. En ese sentido, coincido con usted, señor Timmermans, en la dificultad del reto. Este proceso sin duda va a ser un proceso difícil, pero este proceso debe llevarse a cabo en todos y cada uno de los pueblos y ciudades de la Unión Europea. El pacto verde europeo debe ser un pacto verde en todos y cada uno de los territorios. Debe tener la singularidad y debe tener las características que cada uno de esos territorios necesitan para transformarse en base a los grandes objetivos europeos que ustedes están marcando desde la Comisión Europea. Por eso, quería lanzarle en primer lugar la idea de que no es posible convertir los objetivos de los que nos estamos dotando y un objetivo tan ambicioso como el que se ha planteado aquí de reducción de misiones, sino somos capaces de convertir en acción y en proyectos concretos en el territorio esos objetivos. Por tanto, la primera idea, querido vicepresidente Timmermans, sería que necesitamos pasar de los objetivos, en este caso e incluso de los cambios regulatorios, debemos avanzar hacia los cambios organizativos y, sobre todo, la traslación de los recursos económicos directamente al territorio cuanto antes. Debemos ser capaces de convertir esos objetivos en proyectos. Y los proyectos ya existen, vicepresidente Timmermans. Como decía en este caso el presidente del Comité de Regiones, hemos podido comprobar desde la Comisión Enve desde el Grupo de Trabajo, en este caso del pacto verde europeo que tenemos en este Comité de Regiones, hemos podido comprobar cómo el llamamiento a nuestras ciudades y regiones se ha convertido en 200 proyectos de referencia que cumplen los objetivos marcados por la Comisión Europea. Tenemos que convertir esos 200 proyectos en miles de proyectos en cada uno de los territorios de la Unión Europea. Y eso no es posible en estos momentos con una arquitectura que está organizada demasiado rígido en los Estados miembros y que dificulta la llegada de los recursos económicos desde la Unión Europea a las regiones y, sobre todo, a las ciudades y a los núcleos rurales. Ahí está la auténtica clave para acelerar el proceso, vicepresidente Timmermans. Y, por tanto, le propongo, en primer lugar, conseguir que la Unión Europea tenga un pacto verde europeo en cada territorio. Para eso tenemos que implicar a la sociedad y tenemos que tener recursos para hacer más campañas y más procesos de participación. En segundo lugar, tenemos que identificar proyectos piloto concretos como esos 200 que tenemos ahora mismo en esa base de datos y tenemos que convertir esos proyectos piloto en proyectos financiados, pero en toda la Unión Europea. Hay un gran desequilibrio entre unas regiones y otras a la hora de conseguir financiación de proyectos porque necesitan más apoyo técnico, porque necesitan poder, en este caso, ir más de prisa en la obtención de esos recursos y hacerlo bien, hacerlo en este caso para conseguir los objetivos en materia de cambio climático. Y coincido plenamente con usted que la revolución verde solo será posible si transformamos la movilidad sostenible en nuestros territorios, si transformamos el transporte y si transformamos la eficiencia energética en todos sus aspectos, pero sobre todo en la vivienda. Esos dos elementos necesitan contar con recursos económicos concretos en el territorio. Muchas gracias. Muchas gracias, alcalde. Espada, I want you to know that as president of the ENVE Commission, we have been following your great work there and we will be collaborating very closely in the near future and I think it would be a good idea to organize a trilateral between Vice President Timmermans, yourself and myself in order to see and discuss the issues concerning the matter at hand. So I would like to give the floor now to Emon Duli, our colleague, please. Mr. Duli, obviously there is a technical issue, so we are moving on to Mr. Kozlowski, please. This is the second opportunity to move on to the system that connects with the right transformation of the environmental, economic and social environment. Achievement of climate neutrality requires decisive action, in addition to the struggle in the form of additional financial means. We have to prove ourselves a healthy distribution and elasticity, or let me say that no transformation will take place without the commitment of all units of the European regional and local SEBLU. A huge chance for the correct transformation of the energy region, in this represented by me, Małpolski, is looking into the mechanism of the correct transformation that will help to remove the negative effects of the economic and energy transformation. Małpolska, which is represented in a close range, is dependent on Węgla. We are dealing with the 11th position in the European regions in terms of the number of places directly related to the acquisition and use of this raw material, and the 12th, in terms of the risk of the consequences of the social, economic and energy transformation. We have already started the energy transformation in Małpolska in the 90s, but the closure in this period of two excavations still has negative social and economic consequences. Further steps in the direction of climate neutrality must lead to the right high financial resources. For many years, Małpolska has carried out pre-cursor activities on the right of air quality and climate protection. We carry out the integrated air-related live project, and since 2021 we are starting another live project on the climate. We work with local governments, scientific units and companies. As one of the seven regions in Europe, we carry out the start project with the help of the technical platform of the Węglowy region in transformation. This cooperation led to the preparation of a wide range of piloting projects that are worth more than three billion zlotys. Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, I appeal to you to ensure the appropriate high financial resources intended for the full implementation of the green power policy and to ensure the regional influence on the decision-making procedures related to the identification of projects. Thank you for your attention. Thank you very much. I would like to now move on to Andreas Grifroy. Mr. Grifroy, you have the floor for two minutes. Do you hear me? Yes. Thank you. Thank you, Vice President Timmermans, for your brief introduction. We saw each other yesterday during the Federal Energy and Climate Relay in Vlaanderen, Brussels, Belgium. And I think we can say that everyone has a green recovery with an inclusive green deal and a direct climate neutrality. But they also have to be responsible for three conditions. They are based on three principles in our group, the European Islands. The first principle is that we have to be aware of this. This means a good combination between yellow and green hatches. And for this, a flexible approach is needed, with the technical sustainability and the cost efficiency that can be different for every region or every big city. Two is the purpose of the law. And I think you are very good at putting the right accents and prioritizing a number of sectors, such as housing, transport, agriculture, circular economy, to the lowest cost to realize the biggest reduction of CO2. But three, and that is also the question for you too, is a bottom-up approach. 70% of the output is local, but at least 70% of the solution is also local. And so we are asking the floor with concern that local and regional authorities are not only involved in the implementation, as you just mentioned, but also in the decision-making, especially in the earmarking of the funding. And I also want to mention that I heard about hydrogen. You know very well that green hydrogen is an energy carrier and can actually only be produced based on shots of production of green electricity, otherwise you will miss the use of language. And then when we talk about the import of Africa, what the possibility will be for the future, we will make it available again outside the continent of Europe. And with that I ask you, why are you no longer involved in carbon capture storage, such as the rise of CO2 and the use of CO2 to give our own industry a support in return. Thank you. Thank you very much. Our colleague, Mr. Duli, please, is connected now. You have the floor. Mr. Bernklaus Wosch, please. Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you very much, Mr. Commissioner. I believe, to be able to say from the green side, with the decision of the EU Parliament to the climate law, in the past week, how clearly it has become that the climate crisis is being taken seriously, that it has arrived and that it has to be implemented now and that such a law should not be changed. But let us not forget that the numbers that we are now supporting are known for decades and also the urgency to put on climate protection technology and renewable energies. The energies should be different from now on to a comprehensive part also here in Europe. We have very successful, also small and medium-sized companies that have produced renewable energies over the years from wind and sun. And in the meantime, the whole chain to the hydrogen technology, to the gas station, to the gas network. And so we, hydrogen technology for the implementation of the energy industry, should not be driven by development and use. Let us drive all over the world renewable renewable potential for our hydrogen production for the export to take off. That blocks the development in the countries there and that ultimately blocks our development here. Mr. Timmermans, you say the key to renewable to climate neutrality until 2050 are new technologies and innovations. But let us also think about it and innovation will be realized or long realities are that is regional, that is on site I have the signage and there where terrible conditions for the people behind the technologies and innovations will be created. And where does it hake? Yes, it hakes that we need a global, effective CO2 budget, need CO2 border taxes, need CO2 footprint, which also in imported products are priceable. Green Deal and next generation must be built so that regions, cities and communities our strongest asset and the leading power in climate change in the fight against climate change may have their potential. And I emphasize again regions and cities are not the implementers, they are the origin of innovation. They must be integrated into all processes. They must get away from the assumption that this is an unpleasant difficulty, is the differences in Europe to unite, to recognize, differences and common goals are our strongest asset. Thank you very much. We move now to Mr Rastislav Tranka. Ms. Rosa Balastores, please. Rob. Okay, go ahead, Ms. Balastores. Rosa, go ahead. We cannot hear you. Well, thank you, President. I think now yes, there was a problem. I couldn't access it. Thank you very much, President. It is called Vice President. The green pact of Europe must become, without a doubt, in the Angolan Stone to guarantee a sustainable growth of the pandemic. The region that represents Extremadura is firmly committed to the principles that inspire this pact. Proof of them are the green and circular strategy of Extremadura that aspire to become and to become sustainability in the main sector of development of the region and the extreme energy and climate plan 2021-2030, which aims to advance in the energy transition and achieve climate neutrality 2021-2030. These initiatives will allow, among other things, to look at the population of the territory and to act on one of the most important challenges that we have in some regions of Europe, such as the demographic challenge. For all of this, we re-invite that the regions that have been strong because of a green exit of the crisis and that have as the region of Extremadura a minor degree of development need a quick and effective in order to have this funding that is vital, can cause the chronification of the economic crisis in addition to delay or make dangerously the projects in March to promote the economic transition. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Rosa. I give the floor now to Mr. Bernat Soleil Baril. Okay, we move now to our colleague Miss Dwayne Stanley, please. Miss Dwayne Stanley. Miss Dwayne Stanley. Are you connected? Okay. So we move on and I give the floor to our ex-vice ex-president, our dearest friend, Marco Marcula, please. Good morning. Can you hear me, Mr. President? I can hear you. Mr. President, can you hear me? Okay. Thank you very much. Good morning from Ireland. I live in the Midlands region in County Leash, an area most affected by the transition from brown to green energy and also an area with a low industrial base. The state has gone from carbon intensive power generation to renewable energy. This transition was to take place over a 10-year period but has happened in one year in my region. This has led to huge job losses in the area, in particular in two state-owned companies, Bordemona and the ESB. The household income in the Midlands is over 15% lower than the average in the state. Along with peat being used to generate electricity, it is also used to heat most homes in the region. We need to roll out a deep retrofitting to provide local bus transports, provide more cycleways, alternatives to reduce our carbon footprint and support companies like Bordemona who have ambitious plans to move to renewable energy such as solar, wind and biomass, to rewet another box for carbon sequestration. Significant funding is required as the Midlands is one of the designated parts of the EU coal regions. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you. The floor to Marco Marcula, President, for one minute. Thank you, first Vice President Timmermans. It's really great that you stressed strongly the role of the COR as the Green Deal channel to cities and regions. We are taking that very seriously and we are ready to showcase what does it mean that sustainability is a new normal for all our communities, our businesses and our individuals. And as well we are showcasing in concrete terms what does it mean implementing sustainability and circular economy in all our decision making public and private. I stress the private sector as well including budgeting processes and now personally as well representing my own region we are committed to work very closely on this showing that the future is and will be invented together with the cities and regions and the commission. Thank you very much. Thank you, President Marcula. Rob Youngman, please. Mr. Youngman, you have the floor. Yes. Thank you, Chair. And dear Executive Vice President Timmermans, I have listened to this debate and it seems we all know what to do in this room. However, let's not forget how these policies will affect ordinary people and I have the feeling that we often forget real people in our discussions especially those who live far from Brussels in our villages and rural areas. You just said something about it in your speech but the Green Deal itself contains little about the intended impact on the green transition in rural areas. The green population still lives outside the big cities and little is said about non-carbon dioxide emissions such as methane. Much of this is produced in the agricultural processes and our farmers meet real support and tangible investments and I ask you dear Commissioner what are the commission's plans to help agricultural areas reduce their emissions. Thank you very much. The floor now to Mr. Bernard Soleil Baril. Could you hear me at this moment? Yes. Okay, thanks Mr. President and Vice President Timmermans. First of all, let me highlight some of the projects that we are developing in Catalonia. Last year we approved an ambitious plan to incorporate the 17 SDGs into our policies. All of them are included in the current budget and the economic recovery and social protection plan. We are moving to the right direction with the climate change law which have its own tax system to assure its applications beyond budget agreements. The natural heritage, biodiversity and the maritime strategies provide a sustainable response to the challenges of the blue economy. The actions of the Catalan government with actors in the supply chain have led to a law to prevent food loss and waste. The law of agrarian spaces assumes a disposition of agricultural lands in a sustainable and economic framework. There are many other initiatives but we will only be able to live up at the future if we bring citizens together around the European Green Deal. Thanks for all. Thank you very much. The floor now to Rafal Traskovsky, please. Rafal, you have the floor. Can you hear me now? Of course, yes. Go ahead, Rafal. Thank you very much. First of all, thank you very much, President of the European Commission. I wanted to tell you that we, the regional and local leaders are fully committed to the Green Deal and we want to implement ambitious and realistic targets. I wanted to thank the European Commission first of all that in those difficult times we keep the fight with the climate change as our utmost priority. And then of course we are now at the first front fighting with the epidemic but that we have to do everything that we can to actually keep the priority and our commitments to the Green Deal. I wanted to tell you that we have to focus on the concrete projects and that the local and regional authorities and the EU institutions are committed to full cooperation and that we have to come up with projects that are going to bring a palpable added value, such as for example the renovation of buildings. Second, a climate pact should be an umbrella for local climate partnerships and PACs across the EU to create the benchmarking for us to actually learn from each other. Dear Commissioner, being the mayor of Warsaw, I know very well all the problems of the local governments. Our budgets have been hit by the pandemic and this is of course much harder to implement sustainable policies especially that some of us have difficult to put it mildly governments to cooperate with. That's why we call on you to grant us access to direct funds for the Green Transition that change can be brought about quickly in the European cities and also European regions. That's one of the solutions that can actually help us demonstrate to the citizens the effectiveness of our policies. Dear Commissioner you can count on us, we are the Green Deal ambassadors on the ground and we count on you to work with the committee of the regions and us local and regional leaders. Thank you very much. Thank you Rafal. I have to say that we have been following very closely the work you have been doing with the report on the climate pact and as the rapporteur of the committee of the regions we are here to help and collaborate with you in any possible way because this is a very, very important issue that you are handling now, Mayor. Thank you very much. So, let us now go to Vice President Timmermans for his reaction to what has been heard so far. Vice President, the floor is yours. Thank you very much and let me briefly reflect on some of the things that were said. First of all, I do agree with all those who say that the level of our success will also depend on the quality of the projects and the quality of the projects is very often determined by your actions. So, I think this is something we need to watch collectively, especially in the renovation wave the quality of the projects will play a huge role to get the financing we need. But also in submitting plans for next generation EU to avoid the trap to just submit the same old plans that would always have been submitted we have to make sure the plans that are submitted first of all comply with our commitment that we will do no harm so they should not go into another direction than helping us to become climate neutral and secondly that the substantial percentage 37% of the plans should actually be part of our climate policy. So there we need to work very closely together and of course the projects will differ because of the different levels of development, different levels of challenges in different member states and within member states in different regions. This brings me to the second point which Rafael also mentioned and others which is perhaps a political challenge we need to address directly traditionally when we talk about structural funds etc. Everything we do goes through the national authorities the central authorities. We need to find ways in this stage of the projects in this stage of next generation EU and for the next seven years of the multi-annual financial framework to work more directly with cities and regions. But for that we will need to convince also the national authorities and I would absolutely need your help in that. It should be avoided that let's put it this way in the mildest form I can find. It should be avoided that purely party political considerations would hamper our efforts in making necessary projects work in regional and local level. I think this is the point of concern that I have and we really need to look into this. This should be driven by the quality of the projects and by the necessity on the ground. And the ones who are best placed to judge that are local and regional authorities hopefully in close consultation cooperation with national authorities. But if that is not something that works well the European Commission should be in a position to help local and regional authorities implement what needs to be done to reach climate neutrality. Now the issue of the common agricultural policy we need the reform. I'm saddened by the fact that the Council and the European Parliament have decided to postpone the reform with two years it's in my view two years that could have been used for the reform. This reform will also be supported by our farm to fork strategy which is something many of us citizens want by diversity strategy. Agriculture is one of the bottlenecks in all this transformation and we need to make sure we create a sustainable future on a different basis for our agricultural communities and we are working very closely with regions and also with the sector to make that happen. But I acknowledge that there is a lot of anxiety in that sector because this transformation is going to be very intrusive for everyone not just in the agriculture sector in the car industry, the steel industry. In many industries this is going to be very intrusive but we can find a solution to that and we can redefine a better future for agriculture communities across the European Union on the basis of the plans we have launched. I do believe that hydrogen will be part of the solution in the future both in terms of energy storage and as a direct energy source and I think the plans that I see everywhere across the world are mushrooming at a level that I would never have anticipated only six months ago so this is really taking off. CCS is a technology that we will use, we are using it not in the initial I think not so much in the initial idea for decarbonizing coal because I don't think there is any future in coal and it's technologically also extremely complicated but it can be used in decarbonizing natural gas for instance that's a lot easier and that could also help the transition from coal via natural gas to clean natural gas and then to hydrogen so I think CCS has a role to play and the projects we see in a number of member states are promising and also in a number of states we work with like Norway that are outside the European Union. Let me stop here and just reiterate once again Mr President that we're at the commission are ready to work closely with the committee and with your members to make sure that we actually implement the changes that are needed because not doing this and I say this to a few of the skeptics I heard this morning not doing this will be much much more costly in terms of finances in terms of human life in terms of quality of living than doing this even if doing this is complicated and costly. Thank you very much. Vice President Mr President Dear Frank Thank you very much for being with us today I know your schedule is very heavy today but you found the time for this discussion in our plenary yes indeed we will move on with this collaboration together and I think that by joining forces we can make everything possible so we keep all the interesting things that were said today on from your side and I think again very much understanding that you have to leave us at this point however we will continue our discussion on that issue and I would like to give the floor now to Miss Brigitte O'Neill Yes, thank you very much we have to lay a strong foundation for the Green Deal when we want to reach a climate neutral Europe in 2050 I come from a region with energy-intensive industries. The Niedersachsen has the steel company, the Salz-Gitter AG their home. As a report from the ADR to the green hydrogen, I am very aware that we need this technology especially in the industrial area but also in the transport sector many companies are now ready to invest. They are waiting desperately for the EU strategy for energy and hydrogen to follow further concrete measures. We need a fast market run and therefore need to generate parallel production and demand. We need the EU-wide sustainability classification we need sector integration to achieve all this is a fast possible implementation of the EU legislation to renewable energy and to the trans-European energy and transport network and that is my request to the Commission to quickly provide it. Thank you Thank you very much The floor now to our colleague Mr. Ehrman Duley please Can you hear me Mr. President? Yes, go ahead Ehrman Thanks Mr. President Commissioner President von der Leyen Thank you Mr. President Thank you Mr. President As someone whose community is dealing with the abrupt shutdown of the Irish pity industry a bit like your own Lignite this year with job losses per head of population my local authority is equivalent of 40,000 jobs in Dublin I see every day the consequences of a non-planned just transition I am my witness to the dangers of a non-just transition to the devastation of its Greeks and who with little help could not just supply the vision that a commission person that seeks would breathe life into it transform it into an image and reality Instead my rural community is faced with a decline that chose no sign of abating The doctor in my local town informs me that in the past 12 months she has seen a huge increase in the number of redundant workers presenting with mental health issues as their quality of life their sense of self-worth are at decline As unemployment increases disposable income in the area is in such a time that is now the lowest in the state As living standards fall, students cannot afford to advance to third level education This has delivered reality in my constituency We are once again recreating what the Irish port ghostman called the deserted village and he could have been described in my home community when these waters flowed from his pen and the operation failed No cheerful members stuck to it in the gale No busy steps, the grass-grown foot were tread but all the gloomy push of life is fled While Europe seeks a Europe closer to the citizens fostering the sustainable and integrated development of among others rural areas and local initiatives My community experiences only a cruel and unjust program forced upon it from unhigh But the community of which I still am very proud is resilient It has fended itself in the past In the past the community developed partnerships with funding agencies The local authority kept the village alive to spur us up and attain some hope in the hearts We will face this new challenge as we have done before but this rural community can't win this battle alone We have shown before that the plan agreed between the impacted workers communities, social partners the local authority and the regional authorities stands a far greater chance of success than a top-down approach If Europe seeks closer connection with its citizens it must place those citizens at the heart of the Just Transition Program We need to be citizens centered The meager Just Transition phone proposed by the council will not make its vision a reality Thank you very much Mr Besson Thank you very much Mr Erastislav Tranka please the floor to you speaking Dear Mr President, dear colleagues First of all I would like to thank you very much Mr Vice President for the agenda he is taking care of This is a real public interest because there is nothing more important than the environment we live in our health which is the reflection and so a Green Deal is a good road map to a common goal We have a Green Deal working group in the committee where we strive to ensure that our voice, the voice of those closest to the citizens is heard and incorporated which is a way I would like to ask you Will the European Commission influence national governments so that the effects of the Green Deal and its Just Transition file which is also to be used by the Koshitsa-Selkhan region are really felt in these regions will be the regions and cities at the helm of the ship and not just the crew who do not decide the direction and who just follow the orders of the national government Thank you Okay dear colleagues we need to move on a little bit quicker if there is someone from our colleagues from the members who do not wish to take the floor or decide not to speak on that issue it would be appreciated because we have a great pressure of time the floor now to Mr. Dimitris Karnavos Mr. Karnavos you have the floor Kieran McCarthy please you have the floor Thanks Mr. President can I just say very briefly when the Green Deal is a regular topic on our agenda I think it's important to mention as well the SDGs and the European Green Capitals and the H-2020 Interreg and Urbact and the EU Urban Agenda and many other climate adaptation strategies in local and regional authorities and there's no shortage of best practice out there I think such best practices need to be scaled up and implemented as well and certainly I think the COR looks forward to working with the commissioner on his proposals he brought us this morning on the Covenant on Mayor's seat and aligning actions between the commission and the COR Thank you Thank you very much for being brief Kieran Ana Maguire please Isabel Boudinot please Javier Villa Ferreiro please Hello Do you hear me? Go ahead Ana, go ahead President and colleagues the Green Deal is a big global challenge we have to find solutions here in Europe and over the world I'm happy to let you know that the Hungarian Parliament declared that Hungary has to fulfill the climate mentality here in 2050 this decision is the 7th over the world not in Europe, 7th over the world so Hungary is in the forefront also Hungary has decided to produce 90% of the electricity carbon dioxide free here in 2030 we have to follow Hungary on this day representing regions and citizens we have to insist on introducing complex environment friendly people friendly solutions which do not stop the economical growth in Europe other countries of the world do not stop or decrease their economy we insist on keeping the preferential cost of energy for the families which has been one of the top priorities in Hungary for many years in conclusion that is the approach keeping in mind that citizens shouldn't suffer from solutions. Thank you Thank you Anna The floor now to Hannah In the discussion which is not directly related to other economic issues but Covid caused one thing the economic growth of the internet sales followed by the increase of the amount of packaging which is flooded not only those coming from the European Union I think it would be good if we would deal with this how to block the circular or installations which will increase these losses because there will be an increase Thank you very much The floor now to Arno Compatcher our colleague You have the floor Can you hear me now? Go ahead please Okay thank you I represent the South of the South of the South of the West I represent the Southern of the West of the West the Northern I represent the Northern of the West I represent the Northern So Thank you very much, Mr. Aguilar Vasquez, Mr. Vlasak please, Mr. Kahia, Mr. Prizbilski. Thank you very much, Mr. Kahia. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Chairman, I present to you Dony Śląsk, a region from Poland in which we are inspired by the transformation of the energy sector with the intention of achieving a climate neutrality until 2050. We want to prepare ourselves for this energy transformation. We are working on the regional energy strategy. We are determined to achieve the goal of increasing greenhouse gas emissions by the European Commission by 2030 to more than 50 percent. However, this will be required for our region, which will also be supported by the United Arab Emirates, which also spoke about the importance of this support, Mr. Chairman Timerman said in his speech. It is also very important for us to raise awareness of the citizens, which is a consequence of the rising climate change. That is why we are conducting a broad promotional and educational campaign on all the rules in which we approach the air pollution problem. Thank you. And we present the regulations, which I will fight with them, and we will conduct them on the regional level. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Dimitris Karnavoz, please. Ms. Villa Ferreiro. Good morning. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I especially thank the vice president, Timerman, in the name of my region Asturias, who is always present in his speeches, as an example of the regions of the European Union that must face an industrial energy transition, giving a 100% respectful future with the environment and an economy based on all those activities that guarantee environmental sustainability. But also the economy and the social. And for that, we need support and especially funds. The European Union is demonstrating its commitment through the next innovation and the right transition mechanism, and now it is necessary to ensure that the region has its participation in the governance process of these funds. We must insist, on the other hand, on the need to maintain the macro-economic conditions of the stability pact in the subspension. They are the real cause of the delay or the absorption of structural funds. I even ask the vice president to consider increasing the benefits of the funds to truly significant percentages. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Ioan Calabuic, please. Our colleague. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Just two reflections. In the first place, as you have mentioned, the Mediterranean lives in a particularly complex situation. It heats up 20% more than the rest of the planet and therefore needs a specific response in the European green pact. In second place, we also believe that ferrocarril is essential for decarbonisation of the economy. In that sense, corridors, such as the Mediterranean corridor, are also essential for promoting a sustainable progress and fulfilling the goals of climate neutrality. Finally, I would like to thank Mr. Timberman for his commitment and his sensitivity to our community, which he knows well, and also for asking for a commitment to all of us through unified treaties for tourism in Europe, because they are going through a very difficult time. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. We have two last interventions. Iris Pereira, please. Okay, then. Christopher Drexler, our last intervention for this point. Okay, our colleague, Mr. Proust, please. It would be a mistake to have an approach simply intra-European. It seems to me that speaking of the green pact, saving the environment must be treated at such a global level. We must integrate our commercial relations. The environment must be present in our commercial relations to impose on our partners the same criteria as our European companies. And then we must also work with developing countries. We have spent, at the horizon of 50 years, 2 billion inhabitants, a program of 11 billion inhabitants. The challenge of tomorrow is to know how we can live together with 11 billion inhabitants on Earth. And I think that, indeed, a great mistake would be to work only on the European continent, intra-Muros, by hiding what is happening outside, as well as in our commercial partners, which are in development, where we must force the links in an obligatory way so that each of us has a fundamental awareness of the great ecological challenges of tomorrow. I am completely agree with you. You have really put things correctly, if you ask me. I am totally agree. Aloha, Lipón. We now move to the next item of our agenda. Thank you all for participating in this debate.