 It's a debate on promoting equality, diversity and inclusion at local and regional level in the context of EU Diversity Month. It is my great pleasure and honor to welcome Elena Dali, Commissioner for Equality, as well as the Laureates of the 2023 edition of the European Capitals of Inclusion and Diversity Award, Walter Glawiczic from Labin in Croatia, and our colleague Aleksandra Dylkiewicz, Mayor of Danz in Poland. Thank you so much for having accepted our invitation for this moment. As you all know, the CUR has been an active member on the Diversity Awards, not only through application by its members, but within the jury in which member Fini is set. So there is a lot that has been achieved in awareness, in work concerning these issues, but I think still there is a need to be done to see it from the perspective of local and regional authorities. That's why we have this debate. So we have Commissioner Dali with us, and I would start exactly by giving her the floor for 10 minutes to address the plenary of the Committee of the Regents. You have the floor, ma'am. Thank you, President Cordero, Secretary-General, dear members of the Committee of the Regents. In a union of equality, everyone should feel safe and welcome for who they are. Diversity and inclusion are strengths, and they make regions and local communities attractive places to live in. Communities are being made across the EU to ensure that people can live free from discrimination and that our communities can thrive through their diversity. During the EU Diversity Month, we celebrate all this work and commitment to promote equal opportunities for all. A union of equality needs commitment at every level. From the smallest to the largest towns, everyone has a responsibility to protect and promote the values of our union. I welcome the work of the Committee of the Regents to embed equality in its activities from the opinions adopted on our union of equality strategies to the diversity and inclusion action plan applying to its administration. In the last two years, through the European Capitals of Inclusion and Diversity Awards, the Commission has celebrated towns, cities and regions who have excelled in the pursuit of an equal and inclusive Europe. These awards highlight the creativity and range of initiatives taken, and they shine a light on the regional progress on investment in the right measures. We will shortly hear from some of the winners about their understanding of citizens' aspirations and needs, and about their experience in building bridges between communities, sectors and stakeholders. In the Commission, we are determined to support these processes at territorial level throughout the implementation of our union of equality strategies. This means, first of all, reinforcing the structures that promote equal treatment and help to combat discrimination in all member states. For instance, our proposal to strengthen equality bodies will ensure that these bodies have robust safeguards to their independence. It will ensure that they are adequately funded, and it will ensure they have the necessary powers to assist victims of discrimination effectively. To do so, it is also essential that equality bodies are accessible to all people without barriers and throughout the territory of the member states. Racism is an aggression against open and democratic societies. And it harms the whole of society. Action to combat discrimination, racism, xenophobia and hatred, will only be effective when national, regional and local levels are adequately addressed by targeted measures suited to their context. Since the adoption of the first EU action plan against racism, we have been making some progress, I would say. Member states are developing national action plans as we called for, and these should take into account local and regional perspectives. We prioritise listening to those experiencing racism and discrimination. The new permanent forum with civil society is key in this respect. In January, we held an event on intersectionality, racial discrimination and socioeconomic status where the importance of making further progress on data collection was discussed. At the conference in February, organised by the Swedish presidency, one takeaway was the call for long-term financing for local authorities. The Commission has more than doubled its funding for local and regional authorities to improve their responses to discrimination. A multi-level approach also applies to LGBTIQ equality. Our strategy has created momentum to boost commitment at other levels. National Member states now have national action plans or strategies in place. We are able to channel almost 8 million euros in the first two years in financial support to European LGBTIQ umbrella organisations, and additional support is available for grassroots organisations. As we are midway through the implementation of this strategy, we are taking stock of this progress. And your input here is much appreciated. Also with regards to equality and inclusion of Roma people, every member state needs a tailored approach to tackle specific challenges. And at the same time, we have set a common strategic framework to move together in the right direction. For instance, with regards to housing, every member state needs to step up efforts to prevent and eradicate segregation. And we call on Member States to make effective use of EU funds to improve the situation of the concerned communities. The involvement of Roma communities and civil society is crucial to understand and address the situation. This is why we want to strengthen the capacity of local Roma NGOs in the EU and enable them to help monitor the implementation of national Roma strategies. Following this approach, the Commission was able to support the setting up of national Roma platforms in nine Member States last year with 1.4 million euros. Diversity is the strength of the European Union. Innovation and diversity are not only a matter of fairness. They are good for the economy and for business. And they help companies step into a wider pool of talent. To address labour and skills shortages, we need to activate all available potential in the labour market in all sectors and at all levels. Diversity Month puts a spotlight on the many experiences which show the benefit of diverse and inclusive workplaces. We are making progress. The new directive on gender balance on company boards introduces targets for the underrepresented sex that will help give a real chance to the many women qualified for the top jobs to get them. Another milestone for gender equality is the adoption of the directive on pay transparency. The new rules will help ensuring that the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value, which has been enshrined in the treaty since 1957, finally becomes a reality. As part of the disability rights strategy, we are developing practical measures and guidance to improve the labour market outcomes of persons with disabilities. Only half of the 42.5 million people with disabilities of working age in the EU are employed and women with disabilities are less likely to find work. We call for equal opportunities in hiring perspectives and accommodating workplaces. National skills strategies necessary to reap the benefits of the green and digital transitions should cover the specific needs of people with disabilities. We also continue to support the implementation of accessibility policies with the setting up of the European Resource Centre accessible EU. We are building a union of equality involving every level of governance and we are mainstreaming equality in all policy areas. In all this work, the Committee of the Regents plays a key role in bringing in the perspective and expertise of territorial communities across our union. So I look forward to your assessment of our work over the last year and your continued support going forward. Thank you. Thank you so much, Madam Commissioner. Let's now turn to our laureates. I would like to give the floor to Walter Glavicic, Representative of Lebanon, Croatia. Your city is the silver winner of the category for local authorities with less than 50,000 inhabitants for its initiatives, for inclusion and diversity. So congratulations. You have the floor. Good afternoon, everyone. My warmest greetings from Croatia. I'm very pleased to be here today and to tell you all about everything we've experienced in Lebanon and in our county of Istria. And first of all, I would like to thank the Commissioner, Dali, who recognized what we have done and recognized that we are a good example. Lebanon is a small town in Istria, in the north of the Adriatic, about 10,000 people, but it's not so well-known in terms of tourism, but more in what we have done in overcoming the challenges of the past. We've been in a number of empires. We were in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. And then over the history, we have been part of many different communities. Now, we are obviously in the European Union. But in all these years, we have been living in a very small town. In any case, we certainly need to say that we are aware that some things in life don't happen accidentally. And this is why we're trying to ensure that we are working towards a coexistence that we appreciate one another. And I think that we're on the right path. And this is – today is an additional impetus to ensure that we are doing what is most important to me. In the European Union, a lot is happening in Brussels, but we need to ensure that a lot is also happening in rural areas, in local and regional areas. And so it's extremely important that we cooperate with all authorities, local and regional, for all of the people who are living in our small communities. Many years ago in the mines in Laban, everyone was doing the same work, everyone was equal. And so therefore, we have been living the spirit of equality and diversity. We – I would just like to say that everything that is happening in Europe and including the war in Ukraine, it's important to bear in mind that we need to live in coexistence and tolerance. That's why when such good examples exist, such as our example in Laban, which is a small – our little town of Laban in Croatia, which itself is a small country, if we can serve as an example for others and add on to greater diversity and tolerance, this is something we're happening – happy to do in a spirit of cooperation. Of course, you know also that Serbia is our neighbours and we are trying to work on improving our relationships with Serbia at a local level through all of our communities. It's been a wonderful opportunity and honour for me to be here today. Thank you. Now the floor goes to our colleague Aleksandar Belkevic, Mayor of Gdansk. Our city is the winner of the special award for fostering LGBTIQ equality for its numerous initiatives involving inclusive public services and support for victims of discrimination. Congratulations, Aleksandar. You have the floor for three minutes. Thank you very much, Mr. President, Madam Commissioner, dear colleague, dear friends. I'm really, really glad for this award, not only because my city is a city of solidarity, as you all know, history began to change in my city. But now, today, we really need to fulfil all those needs on equality rights, no matter if this is a matter of sex or race or religion. And this is what we are trying to do in our city with numerous programmes. Five years ago, we adopted official policy, model of equal treatment, the policy which was prepared for quite a long time for several months together with what is extremely important, not with my clerics or my colleagues, but with NGOs, with plenty of different non-governmental organisation. And now, after five years, we are trying to develop this policy. Not everything is working perfectly, and this is obvious. But we are trying to do it as much as we can, especially if you know what is the political situation in Poland and where not always human dignity and human rights are fully respected. This Saturday, we are going to have in my city in Gdansk for the eight-time Equality March. It's totally different than in different cities of Poland, because everyone is really welcome. Everyone is welcome. And it is, of course, mainly about the rights of people, LGBTQ, but not only. We are always having people, disabled people, people from different religions, people from different countries, people who are all different, but all loving our city. So we are trying to show that even during those difficult times, we can live peacefully together, accepting and promoting human rights and human dignity. So I'm really grateful for this award. And I do hope that also other cities will follow our way. Thank you. Thank you, Alexandra. Now, we are going to move to the political groups' interventions. I would like now to give the floor to Member Sakredeus for four minutes. I think the best we can do on local and regional level is to work concrete. I will give you a concrete example from Sweden. As you know, many women leave rural areas. And to try to stop this, we have to make an effort. And what we did was that we, in the area of construction, we had, we had, we had we wanted to build a house that was free from CO2. And it's called Villa Zero. So we used materials to that house without entry. And we built it in tree and, and all other good materials. But I must mention, where do the girls come into this? Well, this house is built by a sweet lady architect. It was a lady carpenter. Everything was made of ladies. And that changed also the attitude against this work to work in the construction firm. So I think that we have to go forward and, and open up areas where women that would like to work in areas that is not traditional for women. So we have to be concrete and, and also point out. Because we know in rural areas it's very important to have regional development is if you also try to make women stay there, that's a success for, for the rural areas. Thank you. Thank you so much for your contribution. Now the floor goes to Member Sensi for four minutes. Thank you very much, Chair. I wanted to congratulate Commissioner Dudley for presentation, also for promoting this very important idea, which allows us to focus our attention closely on how we can combat discrimination, how we can empower people from diverse ethnic origins, how we can make more people available to the labour markets, etc. As you have said, Commissioner, this helps people to pursue their individual lives. That in itself would be a good thing, but it also helps more widely in promoting the environment in which people live. It promotes competitiveness, it promotes creativity, and it allows for more inclusiveness. The Presidents at the beginning of our meeting today reminded us of what's been happening recently in Emilia Romagna in Italy. I'm convinced that people there are asking where the people helping them come from, but they're not asking which God they worship and what conditions they live in. They're saying whether they can help us, they're working together, and from that point of view, you understand how it is possible to build on what has been done by MERS in small and large cities, creating modalities for people to live and work together, to create communities, to be competitive, yes, but also to share culture, strength, wealth, and also create happiness. Happiness is one of the greatest objectives of a city. Administrators are there to provide models which will improve lives for their citizens, particularly those who find themselves faced with greatest difficulties, people who have been through difficult and often arduous life paths, and I think as has been shown by the work done by our colleagues who have tried to promote energy transitions, promote women in the workplace, gender equality, all these tasks are in front of us, and the biggest task of all is of course to fight climate change and we all have to work together in the environmental transition to find ways of producing energy, which is cleaner, to make sure that we have a more sustainable energy consumption model for our children. Those who are fleeing wars are faced with desperate situations which are often caused by an unfurred distribution of resources and wealth, they're often forced to take refuge from the effects of climate change, we're often talking about people who have suffered from discrimination and they're still discriminated against within the confines of Europe, and that is something that goes against everything we stand for, so Commissioner, from the group of the ESP, we can only voice our utmost support, I think the Committee of the Regents is the best place to make sure that we can implement local policies which help us to achieve our objectives, thank you. Thank you so much, now the floor goes to Member Altunia for three minutes. Thank you Mr. President, Madame la Commissaire, my dear colleagues. Thank you chair, dear colleagues, I'm very pleased to be speaking about today's topic diversity and inclusion, these are fundamental to renews values, we want to foster a more inclusive society where everyone can blossom regardless of their differences and this should also be a priority in the EU. On a local scale, this is obviously a very important item, I'm very pleased to represent Côte d'Azur and this city has adopted a diversity charter to deploy specific actions on a societal as well as professional level, we want to guarantee the professional equality between men and women and for that reason the southern region puts aside money every year to raise awareness about equal work specifically within the tech industry, for example. We also are aware of the importance of encouraging cohesion between communities, NISA's LGBT Centre launched the first edition of a hybrid festival, the Rainbow Festival for Idaho BIT last week in order to encourage the work of local artists and people who work against discrimination, this is the first edition of such a festival in France and they had over 5,000 participants, it's also very important to make all of this part of our strategy with educational programs which are inclusive and foster cultural diversity, openness of the mind and diversity, we want to encourage good practices on a local as well as European level and this is crucial to maximise our impact but also properly establish our goals. We need to use the facts as well as the resources available, can you say specifically what you are doing or what will be done, well you've already spoken about a few national actions but there is so much left to do particularly in the context of the diversity month, we need to build a strong future together where we respect each other's differences, thank you. Now the floor goes to Member Magyar for two and a half minutes. Mr. Commissioner, the ECR group agrees that Europe's 87 million disabled people must never be treated as second-class citizens, they must enjoy the same rights to work and live in the EU as any citizen, Hungary has taken significant steps to improve the equality of life, independent living and social integration of people with disabilities, we are also proud of the great achievements of our Paralympic athletes. The ECR group continues to play a leading role in supporting the rights of the disabled, we are proud of our 2021 opinion on the strategy for the rights of the persons with disabilities which voiced support to adopt a European disability card, recognised the importance of the structured system to efficiently implement the strategy and highlighted the need to effectively combat physical and mental disability stereotypes, opting for a zero-tolerance policy. Celebrating the diversity month, it is also important to remember that around 50 million citizens in Europe belong to an autoctonous minority who have a national identity besides citizenship, autoctonous minorities who are loyal citizens to their state must also have the right to keep their national identity, language, schools and traditions. These minorities must not only have personal rights but also collective rights. As a clear example, one cannot use a language alone, there should also be a right to speak with others using their minority language. I must admit that it is unacceptable that millions of EU citizens including hundreds of thousands of Hungarians are treated as second class citizens in many EU member states. We deeply regret that despite the success of the European Citizens Initiative of the minority safe pack, the European Commission refused to put this issue on the agenda and initiate legislation. National and linguistic minorities are also minorities. It is crucial for the European Union to demonstrate that it doesn't interpret the treatise selectively and doesn't discriminate specific minorities, but that it can be a defender of the rights of all, including indigenous, national and linguistic minorities. Thank you for your attention. Thank you so much. Thank you. Member McCarthy, you have the floor 40. Thank you, Margaret. Thank you. Madam Commissioner, I'd like to speak Irish, if I may. We have a saying in the Irish language, together we are stronger. I think this should be the basis of all our policies in the EU. There's a strength in bringing people together regardless of their gender, skin colour or ability. We are stronger when we have equality in our communities, in our cities and in our regions. Inclusion, our cornerstones of our communities, and it's not just a moral issue, and I'm really, really glad that you mentioned it also allows members of all our communities to contribute to their full potential. I think all of us that are in this room must continue to actively seek and engage in open and honest dialogues with our neighbours, colleagues, friends and community leaders. And I think that's why I welcome the presentation of the different award schemes and projects here this afternoon as well. I think as local and regional authorities with varying room for manoeuvre, I think we can work with you to co-design and co-implement a number of practical initiatives, I think practical and concrete were words used by my other colleagues here this afternoon, and that we are working in our various cities and regions across education, employment programmes, the creation of public spaces, outreach programmes, working with local businesses, social services, and the list goes on, working with vulnerable populations. And also today I'd love to give a really concrete and great example for my own city of Cork in the south of Ireland where a small but very vibrant non-partisan group of female councillors created Cork City Council's Women's Caucus, and since its launch in March 2021 they've taken part in and organised several webinars, conferences, awareness, raising projects in public spaces, briefings, and all with the goal of exploring barriers to and increasing women's engagement and representation in local politics. So definitely local politicians need to commit, take more action, more on a more personal concrete practical and lead by their own example and to work more closely in co-designing and complementing your own work that is ongoing with yourself. Thank you. Thank you. Member Power, you have the floor for two minutes. Thank you so much, and thank you for this debate. As Ms Dolly said, everyone should feel safe in their communities, regardless of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, race or ability. It needs commitment from every level, from overarching policies to community outreach to our LRAs. When it comes to ensuring the safety of all, to ensuring that everyone can live happily and freely, constant work is needed. The work on inclusion does not stop at the passing of legislation, nor the adoption of policy directions. It is a constant, evolving discussion. It requires a vigilance. It requires active, positive action. In Ireland we held a referendum on marriage equality in 2015, which passed with 62% of the vote. It was a day of jubilation and a signal of a growing inclusion. Yet just last week, almost exactly eight years later, a 14-year-old student was subject to a brutal homophobic attack by his peers. For over half of his life, marriage equality has been open to all, and yet he hasn't been able to live safely and happily. This is why we cannot rest on our laurels. We must root out homophobia and all discrimination against LGBT plus persons from all levels of society. We must not simply congratulate ourselves when we pass legislation, but work to realise true social acceptance for all. And this vigilance must also be extended to all areas of discrimination. At local level, I believe that we need to ensure the inclusion of a diversity of voices in the development of our policies and planning. Having real-world personal experience in these processes can help us to identify areas that need to be worked on and can help us to address these issues head on. We must not wait for people to come to us. We must go and reach out to them and include them. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. Now, the floor goes to Francisco Gonzales. Gonzales, you have the floor for one minute. Gracias, Presidente. Estimada, comis… Thank you, Chair, Commissioner. First of all, I would like to apologise on behalf of the President of La Rioja, who couldn't be here as rapporteur for the strategy for equality of gender from 2020 to 2025. But as you know, there are elections at regional level in Spain. Now, in any case, all of the public administration to receive the role we need to play in ensuring that everyone has access to workplaces regardless of their background and avoiding discrimination, for example, allowing women with disabilities access. This will ensure equal access to services and also outside of their own country, for example, when it comes to leisure in many other areas. The proposal, which we expect by the end of the year will need to be more ambitious and include the possibility of obtaining a job abroad for those people living with disability, offering them opportunities such as support for access to jobs in companies which have more than 50 workers as well as access to counselling for labour. Thank you very much. The floor goes to Paula Fernández-Vianna. You have the floor for one minute. Thank you very much. Regional and local authorities need to put in place policies which will help to combat gender inequality and to promote equal opportunities and equal rights for men and women in the rural areas in Cantabria. We're putting together a number of actions that will help. We've put together women's officers in small municipalities developing programmes to help women affect a digital transition in the rural areas, getting the necessary training, so women are the guardians and transmissors of local culture. We need to protect them against mistreatment. Gender violence says that women in small villages are more likely to suffer from violence than in other areas of the country. So if we want to deal with the problem of depopulation of rural areas, we have to make sure that there are equal rights for women and men in rural areas. Thank you. To member Melanie Hummel, you have the floor for one minute. Dear colleagues, the promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion at local and regional level is a societal topic of importance and I think it's very good that today we're discussing this today. So thank you very much to the Committee of the Regents for having chosen this topic. For us in Bavaria, we have liberality test Bavaria which is involved in this. Everyone needs to be able to live as they choose. This also means that it must be possible to live without discrimination and it is of course the case, it needs to be the case in Bavaria just like everywhere else where we take into account everyone's needs. We also need to be considerate of others and ensure that we take into account the values of other people. The Free Region of Bavaria stands for respect for these values and the developing of diversity and this needs to be developed. I also think the number of good examples have been identified and I think we need to build on these and working on them in front of us so that they can be implemented in other regions. Thank you. You have the floor for one minute. Thank you very much, Chairman. Thank you, Commissioner, for everything you have done so far and which you are continuing to do. I wanted to draw your attention to the need after everything is already being done to act on two further objectives and have a better understanding of the needs and better assessment of the result of actions to avoid words carrying more weight than deeds. We need, more and more, is to make sure that when we programme actions that we actually do things that we have said we are going to do. For example, equal pay for equal work in Italy. We have article 37 of our constitution which has been enforced since 1948 but the fact is that we don't have equal pay for men and women. We tried to promote a regional law which was then unanimously adopted to make sure that this would happen but there are so many things that need to be done. We need to do lots of monitoring in companies and public administrations because there is a lack of equal pay at the moment. If we can put the proper incentives in place to make this possible then we will see actual action being taken. At the moment we are seeing not enough results. I would have many other things to say but I don't have any time. Important topics have been covered but the opportunities to be discovered isn't one of those opportunities. Regardless of what your origin was you should be equal. Our plans against racism, fighting to fight anti-semitism and to fight hatred against LGBTQ people and Roma people are very important. We're also calling attention to growing as homophobia in Europe and we want to make sure that those communities and young people can feel welcome and feel free to be themselves. My question is in the Netherlands we're now paying attention to the banning of slavery 150 years ago. This affected many communities and of course we're now calling for attention for those parts of the history of many other European countries and we think this is important to do all over Europe. Thank you very much. The Małopolska region is promoting integration and inclusion and we have specific cases. We have a special council for the rights of the family and also we have a representative for family rights and equality. This example from lesson Poland is very specific. We have the days for disability or fragile culture. Here we have free access to culture but we are not talking only about cultural issues, also about family rights. We're supporting various projects that defend fundamental rights, equal opportunities and non-discrimination. Our region is focusing on fundamental rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the UN Convention. Thank you, Mr. President. Madam Commissioner, in your first sentence you said that in our community everybody should feel equal and safe. Indeed, our society is based on equality of men and women. We speak of it, we legislate upon to that effect but obviously the position of women in Europe is still far away from desirable and satisfactory. 31% of women in Europe have been experiencing physical violence, 43% have been experiencing psychological violence, 5% have been raped, 50 women are killed every week in gender-based violence. In Zagreb, my city, we take gender equality seriously. Zagreb has recently adopted the resolution by which it declared itself a safe place for women as a part of past initiative and enhancing the status of women in our society. We call all the cities to do the same. This resolution provides a new impetus for developing new retraining and educational programs for women victims of violence, strengthening the women's housing program and program of organized housing after staying in shelters. Developing special tenders for NGOs dealing with gender equality. Thank you. Member Florian shoots one minute. President Commissioner, thank you very much for this important debate on this topic. Equality, inclusion, diversity are in central parts of European ethos. We have developed guidelines on these ideas. We are talking about the active inclusion of participation of everyone in public life. Integration needs to be a continuous process, including people in all aspects of society life. This can take place at a number level of society. There are a number of administrations dealing with how this can be implemented in daily life. So, for example, we have civil groups who are working towards this, for example, coming up with a specific court for women and children who will focus on these specific points and ensuring that this office ensures that they can get access to appropriate jobs. Thank you. You have the floor for one minute. Dear President, thank you very much. Let's be honest. Integration is something which constantly changes and we need to protect everyone right at the beginning when people are starting school, kindergarten or whatever it may be. We need to ensure that there's support. This needs to be our task. Secondly, we also must ensure that the people with disabilities are fully recognised across the European level so that only those who need such recognition when they go abroad automatically receive it, they should be able to guarantee smooth crossing of borders for these people when they move abroad. Thank you. Siegman, Florian Siegman, the floor is yours for one minute. Thank you very much, President, Commissioner. In cities and regions we are important for education facilities, for cultural offerings or for safety in public spaces and all of this needs to happen in places where people spend their time daily and we should avoid discrimination in such areas. Local and regional action plans are therefore decisive when we want to achieve gender equality and want to promote acceptance LGBTQI people and when we want to achieve inclusion. In my region of Bavaria, we don't yet have an action plan for the acceptance of LGBTQIQ. There are gay and queer associations who are doing what they can to achieve this, but I think we need to ensure that we fight for this, for regional action plans in this area. We are very pleased, we're looking forward to support in Europe also financial nature. Thank you. Dear President, dear Commissioner, dear Europeans, few ideas on this highly important topic in Finnish. Europe starts from cities and regions. Europe has always been diverse. In Hammondlinna in Finland, we've got our own experience of this, but we've also been looking how diversity can lead to more innovation, better welfare and how inclusiveness is good for all, the best results for all. It is important to remember that nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something. In the future, in the committee of the regions, we need to promote gender equality, to prevent discrimination on balance of religion on minority, etc. We have entered into various conventions to promote equal treatment. The right to work is a fundamental right and the European disability project is also important to make sure that everybody can work. We've still got a lot of work to do, only about half of the people who could work as disabled persons are actually working. We need to be able to make sure that people remain at the heart of our approach. You have the floor for one minute. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Commissioner. Equality of treatment is essential on a local level. Malta is a part of the EU and we think that we should take as many measures as possible to reinforce inclusion. We are dealing with this on several fronts. We want to protect LGBT plus people. We want to have centres to protect children as well as disabled persons and make sure that they have access to the job market. When we speak of integration, I think we also need to know what a citizen actually consists of. What does this concept mean? I think that when we speak about a citizen, this shouldn't be part of our job. There are European citizens, but there are people who only reside in Europe, but still residents should also be treated like citizens. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Chair. For the European Diversity Month, the Government of my area decided to place benches with the rainbow colours in diverse and other parks. This was meant to be a sign of support. A few days later, one of them was a black ink with religious messages. One of them was stolen and the rainbow flag was also designated as a very common rural community. We need to make sure that we ensure that the workplace inclusion is, I believe, completely linked. I think it's great to have such a month, but there are 11 other places where these people still exist. Thank you, Mr. President. I'm referring to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion inside of the EU, allowing me to turn your attention to the report on the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Inclusion. I hope that we can talk about the closing cooperation between the EU and the Council of EU. According to this report, the EU offered a cooperation for the EU to take over the expert opinion of the very solution for the conclusion of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion possible. More on the requirements of the Council of EU and the International Ministries, we are to end the debate in the next few minutes. Thank you, Chair for giving me the floor. Mrs. Commissioner, I'd like to tell you that, so far, we've been discussing about about equality of – equality between people, between individuals, be it for gender, remuneration, and others. But we need to insist on the equality of chances of opportunities for children, because they are our future. As a member of the Romanian delegation, I take advantage of your presence here, Mrs. Commissioner, because you are in charge of equality. We, the Committee of the Region, have asked for a project to be launched so as to ensure that communities are not discriminated against. We've asked to elect a rural European capital so that we have equality for rural communities. Not just for urban communities. A great pleasure to give the floor to our young elected politician member, Mr. Fowler. You have the floor for one minute. Thank you, Mr. President. President, Commissioner, where I live, it's an important place in European history. We opened our doors to refugees back in 1989, and we took in a number of – and today we've taken in a number of Ukrainian refugees, but we are very closely attached to inclusion in our community. And for example, these refugees who are now playing football in our local football club. Those people, some of them have gone back to Ukraine. This was all something that happened in 1989. But we remain in contact with those people in those communities nonetheless. Thank you. Thank you so much. Now it's my pleasure to give the floor to Commissioner Dali for five minutes for final remarks. You have the floor, ma'am. Thank you. And thank you so much for these rich contributions. Here I could see the reality which you are touching every day through your work. As pointed out, for instance, on the case of a homophobic attack in Ireland, this shows us that our directives and our legislations are never enough. We need to work on attitudes. We need to work on culture. And I think that you are best placed to bring about this cultural change because you are closest to our citizens. It's very good and it's very important to have the legislation. But then how is this legislation in reality improving the lives of our citizens? And this is your work now to see that you work on changing mentalities, attitudes, and culture. Another example is that of pay equality, which was brought up by the Italian delegate as she rightly pointed out, and it's not just Italy. All the Member States have legislation in this area. And it's enshrined in many constitutions, equal pay for equal work. But in reality, we know that we have a gender pay gap of 13%. So the legislation, again, the legislation is not enough. It's even written in the treaty. But again, we really have to work, which we are doing. In fact, we have our pay transparency proposal in order to start addressing this. We have the work-life balance directive to help so that women do not have to leave the labor market for a long time. We are doing all this. But then again, this is to address something which, legally, women are already entitled to the equal pay. And it's not only the gender pay gap, but worse than that is the pensions gap, which we don't usually speak about. So again, legislation should be implemented and we cannot be happy that we have the law written, but we have to see exactly how this law is being applied or not being applied. And I think the Italian delegate was going to speak also about affordable child care. I heard Azilow, but he didn't have the time. I will tell you that in the European Union, we have 8 million qualified women who are not in the labor market, but they are doing informal care with their children or with elderly parents or with children with a disability. Because we don't have these care services, which are affordable, because you can have them, but if they're not affordable, then it says it doesn't pay that I go to work and then have to pay my salary for care. So again, in order to address this deficit that we have, we have these 8 million women who want to be in the labor market, but cannot be in the labor market because of care responsibilities are not there. Also the delegate from Zagreb, and thank you for bringing up, and also it was brought up later again on the subject of violence against women. This is something which happens in every society around the world. The United Nations have statistics which show that every hour five women are killed around the world. So as we are having this session here, five women have been killed. So this is a reality which nobody can deny. It's an enormous cost on member states, and we really, really, we have also, we're presenting a directive, we shall, the European Union shall finally be also have the Istanbul Convention ratified. Also we are going to have our own legislation on the subject, but again, legislation is not enough. It's a good signal, it shows where we want to go, but then on the ground. For instance, we have to see that women have their financial independence, because when they have this financial independence, it is easier for them to leave abusive relationships. But you cannot leave an abusive relationship if you depend on your abuser for money, to put food on the table, to feed your children, to clothe your children. So what I was saying before, that there are these eight million women not in the labour market, it is all connected. So these eight million women, if they are in abusive relationships, they are probably going to stay in there, maybe until they are killed also, because they cannot be in the labour market, even though they are qualified. So when you map the whole reality, you see a connection, that when you implement a policy, you are affecting other areas of policy as well. With regards to disability, I want to say that by September, we will have the European disability card, which is of course very important for persons with disabilities, and to close, I want to take the point which was made, that diversity is not just for diversity month, but we must embrace diversity every day. Diversity is a strength for our societies, and the more we embrace it, the more we do not discriminate, the more we will be helping our citizens to reach their full potential. And this is not only a moral argument of fairness, that that is how it should be, but it's also a good economic argument that we don't lose out on the human capital, which is available, but we are not using it because we are discriminating. Thank you, I was very happy to be here, and I look forward to continue working with your committee. Thank you. Thank you so much, Madam Commissioner, for taking the time to be with us.