 So we're talking about the future of Europe with a Euro-Mediterranean perspective, Central Mediterranean perspective. And this is an event of extreme importance. We invite you all to attend the event. The European People's Party will also be contributing its views on rethinking and relaunching our meeting. And in that respect, we're taking concrete steps. And the European People's Party, in its manifesto after the last European elections, indicated its aim as being creating a new community spirit, able to protect and enhance our Europe. There lies the spirit of our feelings towards the pandemic and the mistrust that in some cases has arisen in many parts of Europe with respect to European institutions, leading us to relaunching European institutions on the basis of the culture and the spirit of our party. We contributed towards defining an intuition and a perspective, relying on the strengthening of its resources to allow Europe to redefine its tasks, such as the redevelopment of the African continent, and our founders already understood how important it was for there to be a Mediterranean perspective of this great sea, a sea of culture, as it has been defined, to see that it separates us from Africa, Africa which is still very far from Europe, and upon which good neighbourhood policies are still running very late. And this is something that I'll be commenting on later. The sub-Saharan population will go from 15% to 23%. It used to be 10% in 1990. Almost two billion and a half people will live in Africa. Half of the population will have younger than 26, rather than younger than 19, as it is at present. Well, and Europe will represent only 4% of the world population, and the number of young people in Africa will be 10 times higher than the European ones. So there is this strategic role of the south of Europe, and more specifically Sicily and the south of Italy. And that is why we are launching this message to the European People's Party to insist on the neighbourhood policies considering the Mediterranean and Africa as an extraordinary possibility for the future. In this part of the world, that is the boundary of Europe, it is the boundary of Europe. In Europe we have the Sicilian straits and then the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa, that straits of Sicily that was defined as strategic straits within Fortupon Sea. It is a situation that must stress how important it is to have Euro-Mediterranean policies, according to what Don Sturzo said. He was the founder of the European People's Parties, and he used to say that the Mediterranean was central to mankind. So we must insist so as to confirm that the Mediterranean is the centre of this European outlook, and by doing that, relaunching Europe itself. This conference must consider really the future of the Mediterranean. Well, Europe within a common initiative by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, whereby the European Union can demonstrate that it is very attentive to the concerns and worries of European citizens. A recent poll that was carried out by European institutions demonstrated that three-fourths of Europeans consider that the conference on the future of Europe will have a positive impact on Europe. And six out of ten believe that the COVID crisis led them to reconsider the future of Europe, and the voice of the citizens should be taken into account more carefully. And this new conference on the future of Europe is precisely opening up to citizens a bottom-up approach. So involving, well, really concentrating on citizens and something that has no precedence as such in European treaties. And the neighborhood policy is precisely the objective of today's dialogue. A conference on the future of Europe that may take into account neighborhood policies 26 years after the Barcelona conference, the so-called Barcelona process, which unfortunately is far from having reached the objective of peace, stability and prosperity in the Mediterranean after the recent joint communication with the European Commission and the high representative of the UN. So this renewed partnership, well, this southern neighborhood, the new agenda for the Mediterranean, that's what we are having now. And it is a target that is yet to be reached. We need a multi-level governance that must be guaranteed, involving both international and local authorities and effective migration policy. I believe President Tajani will underline how important this is in the European perspective to have a migration policy that will reconsider Dublin agreements and visiting financial solidarity mechanisms and insisting on lawful migration, linking it up with the European economic development oriented to the south of Europe and also to avoid any form of discrimination based on race or religion. There is a task by southern European regions in relaunching the neighborhood policy and also this relationship with Africa across the Mediterranean, but especially with regard to islands. The issue of islands is very close to my heart. It is one of my priority objective at the COR. And in this respect, insularity, as you know, is a condition we are very well aware of because the next planning at the level of the council level is something that is of paramount importance, especially considering the support. So island regions must be considered as a sort of hinge between Europe and the Mediterranean with vis-à-vis Africa. Of course, Africa is for us the privileged interlocutor for this neighborhood policy. Economic and social cohesion, therefore, is precisely what we must be very keen on, both with regard to the neighborhood policy and the European cohesion policy better involving the southern regions of Europe. With an approach that is precisely that of the treaties where we read that solidarity is a fundamental value. According to Article 3, the Union promotes these values, economic cohesion, social and territorial cohesion among states. And this is confirmed by Article 174. And so this economic and social cohesion that must be translated into practical mechanisms. So real attention to the Mediterranean. So stronger Europe because it is stronger because there is more cohesion. Sicily was one of the actors through the Messina conference in June 1955. Back then Europe was going through a moment of crisis and through the Messina and Termina conference. Well, that received a big encouragement, a big hand. And we hope that this conference on the future of Europe may be a great occasion not to be missed. It is a great opportunity for European citizens to contribute to the relaunching of European institutions. We need a system of continental relations between Europe and Africa that otherwise would collapse in a matter of years considering the numbers I mentioned at the beginning of my presentation we can work together, and we can build a great great future. Well, well, our idea is that of Italy giving a maximum contribution. This is the meaning of today's meeting. Thank you. Good morning. Good morning everyone. We've just heard a message from the Vice President of Sicily Region, Gaitano Armao, and he gave us a list of things that he's doing. So I'd first like to extend my warmest greetings. I'd like to say also that this local dialogue, EPP local dialogue meeting was organized by the European COR and the President of the Sicily Region, and it will be streaming live. You'll be able to access it at hashtag local dialogue, EPP COR. And so let's now very warmly welcome all of our speakers today. I would ask you to keep your microphone off when you're not using it. And I think that's about all. So apart from thanking everyone once again, I'll give the floor to the Honourable Giuseppe Mirazzo, member of the European Parliament, and EPP Forzitalia as the Sicilian representative. So let me now give the floor to Giuseppe Mirazzo. Thank you very much and good morning. I'd like to start with a word of thanks, a very heartfelt word of thanks to Professor Armao, because what he's doing is outstanding in terms of linking, representing us at the European institutions, and he's doing an extraordinary job. I mean, on a daily basis, I experience our distance from Europe, and thanks to Gaitano Armao, I see that Sicily is playing a part thanks to Armao, and Sicily is really playing a central role, not in a passive way. It's really belonging to and taking center stage in a very active way, thanks to Mr. Armao, and he's doing this in a very purposeful, deliberate way. I listened to what he told us in his opening message. He spoke about defining this relationship and liked to focus on his definition of the sea, which he called a sea of civilization, which has a thousand things in common. A thousand things may sound like a lot of things, perhaps too many, but he really gives us a very concrete depiction of the potential that the Mediterranean Sea has, our sea has. It is truly the most important sea of the world. The Mediterranean is rich in history, rich in culture. Today, an example of multiculturalism, it's a center of tourism, of employment, of trading, and of a political coming together and sharing, even at the religious level. I mean, just think of our Palatine Chapel, which every time there was a new occupation, it wasn't destroyed, it was appreciated, it was enhanced, and every occupying force added its tradition and its history. So this is a teaching that I'm grateful for through Professor Armao. I believe that what we must do is leave our mark. We must not delete other things to do that. And I'm just thinking about COVID, and it was mentioned a few minutes ago. I think we need to remember how strenuously Europe has been tested and passed this test. Of course, this is only the starting point. We have a long way to go, but I heard mention of Africa as well. Let's remember how important Africa is geopolitically and Asia as well, China. I believe we need to focus on Africa. We have a political right to take an interest and focus on Africa. We need to dominate this process and also keep a strong focus on what's happening in the Middle East. And I hope, I believe, that the European People's Party can and must identify an internationally credible dialogue partner and be that partner to contribute peace, to contribute a sharing and an awareness of events, because the Mediterranean should not represent a sea of death and desolation, as it sometimes is viewed. It's almost like a time machine that can take us back in time, rather than see the Mediterranean as a Sicilian issue. Sometimes, in fact, it is not a nationwide problem. I've seen Muslim, I've seen our mouth dealing with an issue that, in fact, is everyone's problem. It's an Italian problem. It's a European problem. And I think the short-sightedness that exists is all too widespread. I believe if it were up to the European People's Party, there would be total freedom of movement. I see a lot of skepticism. I see European institutions basically dropping out and making distinctions where there should be no distinctions. I think this ought to represent an opportunity that we should all try and grasp as quite rightly the Vice President of the Sicilian region was saying. The question of immigration is a serious issue. It is offering us an extraordinary opportunity and how many jobs can our society today no longer deal with? If we were able to appreciate as resources in these immigrants, I remember on a previous occasion, Professor Armao was talking about the inland areas of Sicily that are basically drying up. But were we capable of adding value to these regions? That would be a wonderful thing. I don't want to take too much time. But I think we're also hearing about the option of hope for a European charter that would be embedded with what we believe in at our confictions with a strengthening of participation of electors and voters and citizenry. For example, the direct election of the President of the European Commission, as well as a single defence policy Europe wide, a single employment policy Europe wide. We have a situation whereby in Italy, there is a certain employment arrangement with laws, rules and regulations in France. There's a different one. What we need to do is try to come together and form a standard with no more distinctions between Italian citizens. We see things one way and have a certain approach towards employment versus France, say, which has a completely different one. Now, all of these things today I believe are seeing the approach of a new era that I believe Professor Armao is seeing as we are with the European People's Party. Professor Armao's presentation speaks of a Europe of hope, a Europe which will again be a benchmark for one and all worldwide. When people ask me in the street, what's the matter with Europe? We were saying, well, who knows? But with the People's Party today, I think we can say that there are a multitude of resources that can be used and that can be spent. And here too, Sicily is playing a major role. It's a model despite the issues, the problems, the pain of Sicily's past economic scenario and financial scenario. But today Sicily is proving its ability to plan effectively, to employ its resources effectively rather than improvise things. And I think we've moved away from the past and from the typical improvisation that Sicily was charged or accused of. And today things are far more concrete. I don't know whether we'll be around to see the ultimate goal being reached. I hope we will be. Obviously, every time there are new elections, new people come on the scene. But I'm sure that whoever will come on the scene next time will find a Sicily in order with perspectives and with a future. And I'd like to thank you because I believe that this truly is not a meeting where we just come along and say a few words. This is truly a meeting that will rely on and that will enhance the concept of planning and preparedness. And I'm more than willing and delighted to continue along this track. Thank you very much, honorable Minazzo. Thank you for being with us today. I hope you can stay with us a bit longer because we will have a discussion. I want to inform all participants that this event is recorded, is being recorded. So the use of this images will be done by the EPP will be used on social media. And now I give the floor to Sergio Cacci is the mayor of Montalto di Castro and he's a member of the Committee of the Regents. And he belongs to the EPP and for say Talia. Mr. Cascio, you have the floor. I wish to thank Leonardo and get our mouth for organizing this dialogue on this very special subject. And I'd like to invite both him and MP Milazzo. And I wish to ask both of them a question about the islands, the south of Italy and Sicily. Is it a national boundary or a European boundary, European frontier? Because that is precisely what we must consider after what Mr. Armao said and what Mr. Milazzo said, because quite frequently I see that President Musumec and other presidents of the southern regions as well as the mayor of Lampedusa, are left alone in, I mean, in facing the problem of rescuing migrants. And I believe that is one of the major problems at the moment. That is why I believe that we need a European approach. We must speak of the south of Europe, not so much of the south of Italy. And we must be helped in the management of all these situations. Obviously, Europe is being loved increasingly by citizens. And during the pandemic, of course, this role was extremely important. You understand a bit less what Europe is about when they want to set a traffic light on Italian products. But we have our Italian MPs, but also the members of the Committee of the Regions. We are there and we are willing to fight, to fight, of course, with all this. I mean, even if you drink a gallon of water, the consequences would be devastating for your health. So it's not certainly the why that causes any damage to the health. It's just a matter of quantities. At Maastricht, the Committee of the Regions was set up and of course it was a big step forward. Precisely in this idea of neighborhood policy, regional policy, European policies. Precisely to get to know the real ideas that European citizens have, the citizens of individual states, what they think about Europe, what they actually think about Europe. But Europe must give a clear idea about the different policies, the cohesion policies, the economic policies. It cannot go fast when it applies the same telephone tariffs in all European states, whereas there are policies that are quite different in terms of taxes in member states. I know that the thing is similar also in the United States, but the differences are not as big as in Europe. And we have seen that many Italian companies ran away and they went to other European states, of course, causing a damage to our economy. All this evidence must be well underlined and discussed at the European level. And as Mr. Armau said, well, the fact that we do not have a European constitution, well, that was detrimental to the development of this European history. I hope that the vote on this European constitution, I mean that this idea may go on. Italy had approved it. France stopped everything and then the UK as well. So other EU member states blocked it all. So I believe it would be a good idea to go back to the European constitution and giving a true meaning to this union and also accelerating the policies that we are discussing today. Thank you. Thank you very much, Sergio Cacci, Mayor of Montalto di Casto. Thanks for your kind words. And in the meantime, I'm receiving word that President Taiani is trying to join us from a train that he's traveling on. There are a few problems there. Hopefully he'll be with us soon and we'll have the opportunity to listen to him in the meantime. I'll give the floor to Dr. Peter Agios, who's an EU expert on EU matters. Issues, thank you. Mr. Agios and I'll give you the floor. Tutti, many thanks to President Armau and to all of you for this invitation and for this initiative. I think this is a very interesting discussion which we need to promote and I have followed the activity of President Armau in particular on promoting the needs and the common cause of islands in the European Union. I would like to share with you a perspective, a personal one, essentially, but before that I want to introduce myself so you understand where this is coming from. Essentially, I am a European official, I'm a bureaucrat, which turned into a politician. In fact, I have contested the European Parliament elections and I am still active in my party back at home in Malta as a candidate for the European elections. But before that I started, I was working, first of all, in the Council Legal Service as a European official, then as a negotiator, as an advisor to negotiations in the Council, where of course my job was to solve disputes and propose solutions to new European legislation to find compromises between member states. And after that I worked in the European Parliament, first as a head of the office in Malta as a communicator, and then I had the privilege of joining the service of President Ayane who will be joining us soon. After that, as I told you, I was a European election candidate. So I know a bit of the machinery of the European Union institutions, how they produce legislation, but now as a politician I'm looking at it also from a different perspective of how to respond to the particular needs of the Maltese people in particular, because I come from Malta and I need to push forward the stronger voice for Malta in the European Union. And I trust, when I say of Malta, I trust that there are a whole series of issues on which there is an alliance, there is as President Armao said, an alliance of interests. But when I look at the European Union in this regard, given, however, notwithstanding that there is an article in the treaty, as you also mentioned, which says that the European Union needs to give particular attention to regions, especially those which suffer, and I quote here article 174 of the treaty, particular attention to regions which suffer from permanent natural handicaps, such as islands. And I believe that notwithstanding that there is indeed, there are a lot of efforts being done by several institutions on several levels to promote this particular attention. I think we are still very far away from achieving this declared objective of the treaty. And even though EU funding, you know, EU budgetary policy, EU cohesion policy, do effectively make a lot of difference. So if you invest more heavily in the needs of particular regions, yes, this makes a difference. But this is not enough in itself to bridge the gap between the different regions and ensure that the regions which are lagging behind actually catch up, actually have the same levels of employment, economic prosperity and opportunities. So I think I sincerely think that what we need is not simply a budgetary measure. I think we need to sensibilize the institutions to make them more in queue to the perspectives of islands and isolated regions. To make sure that this article 174 of the treaty, this particular attention to islands, is kind of ingrained in the system, is ingrained in a kind of a systematic test, a systematic part of the procedure which obligatorily should include the island perspective in proposed legislation. So I'm not speaking here of funding of budgetary measures but legislation, new laws or older laws which are being amended or implemented, which should keep an island perspectives in mind. And this is why I personally took the opportunity as a citizen, as a citizen, in the context of the future of Europe Conference to present a proposal to change the way the Commission operates. It's a small change, but which I think can make a lot of difference. What I would like to tell effectively is to include the assessment of the cost of insularity in the impact assessments of the European Commission. As you know, the European Commission conducts a very thorough exercise. The impact assessment, the Commission is obliged to do an impact assessment before it actually presents legislation to the Committee of the Regents for consultation and to the legislators for adoption and amendment. This impact assessment includes economic, social, and environmental impacts of the proposed measures that the European Commission is considering before it can actually submit the study attention of the legislature. However, this kind of impact assessment is not the Commission of course has a wide margin of how to conduct it. These are, broadly speaking, very regularly assigned to external third parties, nothing wrong with that. But this exercise normally is very generic in the sense that it sets the impact of the legislation on, let's say, European society as a whole. There is no particular attention at that stage of the procedure on how the impact, the proposed legislation will affect the particular case of Sicily or Cyprus or Malta, which, as we all know, they have specific challenges. There is no particular attention, as the treaty expressed before sees that particular attention is not therefore ingrained in the way that the European Commission operates to propose new legislation so my my proposal is simple. I submitted this in the Future of Europe Conference, you can find it online. I will also paste a link in the chat here for you to consider this proposal and possibly even if you want to endorse it. My proposal is very simple. The European Commission should include, obligatorily, a test which assesses the impact of its proposed legislation on islands and isolated regions to actually give life to this article 174 of the treaty, and check the and indeed ensure to have this particular attention to islands and isolated regions and we have plenty of of examples from the past, even the recent past where proposed legislation which does not include this assessment, actually causes problems later on. Right now, there are 12 member states in court in the European Court of Justice challenging the new legislation of the European Commission with regards to road transport. These member states, including Malta Cyprus, and the number of other member states are saying, listen, the proposed new rules on tracking on road capital are having a disproportionate impact on on isolated regions. Of course, I will not enter into the matter of the specific case, but this shows that we need a more systematic test to to see that the needs of islands is is ingrained in the system. That's all from my end I will continue to follow with interest discussion and many thanks again for this initiative. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Dr Agios for your presentation. I believe we have the president Tiani with us, if we could possibly see him, I'm being told that he's joined us. Could we ask a control room if we can get through to Antonio Tiani. No, I still don't see him. Okay, so the end of this first round of comments I would give the floor to the Vice President of the Sicily region, Gaetano Armao, to hear his impression, his views on what he's heard so far. Thank you for your suggestions. So, Professor Armao, I'll give you the floor. And when President Tiani joins us, I might just change the agenda slightly. Yes, sure, absolutely. If President Tiani joins us, I'll disconnect. First of all, let me please thank our friends who've spoken this morning for the attention they've paid to what I said, and also to the crucial focal point of this meeting today. And this brings me back to what we heard this morning, what Sergio Caci and Giuseppe Malazzo said, which is Sicily's role in the south of Italy, the Berlin Islands play in the European dimension, and rethinking front-ex, rethinking migration policies. I think there really needs to be a greater focus on borders within Europe. And clearly, as Giuseppe Malazzo rightly said, European Union is facing this crisis with a strength that never knew it had, I think if we look at Europe a few days years ago, everyone was very much closed in watertight compartments thinking about their GDP. Their figures, numbers, parameters, everything was all very rigid. Now, Europe is much more open, much more forward-looking, and there's a considerable focus on younger generations who are seeing themselves as living in a Europe that is changing. And that is the whole concept that we're talking about here, Europe rethinking itself. And I sent you a version of my presentation and it'll shortly also be available in English. What I tried to do was consider the context, the setting of a Europe that is changing, a Mediterranean that is changing very deeply and an African continent that will very soon be changing. If we think of Schumann's original text, well, I think we can just imagine how far we will be by 2050, so we're very much closer to the future than we were from Europe's roots in the past. And I know that time is moving along at warp speed, and if Europe's borders for southern Europe, for Italy are truly looking forward, then altogether we must be looking at what is happening in the Mediterranean. We're seeing migrants arriving in the Puglia region, in the Campania region, in Sicily, not just Sicily. Generally speaking, Italy's culture, the south of Italy's culture is very closely tied in with Spain's and Portugal's, and the same would go for Greece or Cyprus in relation to Turkey, for example. So I believe that even given the dramatic events of the past few days that we're seeing over and over again on the news, it's really bringing back to the 1970s when we're seeing the Gaza Strip, those dramatic pictures of clashes between Palestinians and Israel. It's a phenomenon that is certainly not of a local nature only. And with Europe's strategy and with Europe's vision, it needs to tackle the issues and the challenges of the future. That is our perspective. And what we must do as the European People's Party is to convey our culture, our values, to contribute the institutional and popular concept that unity is the answer. Coming together, communicating, seeking dialogue, this is what will enable us to get away from a purely national view of things, making the Mediterranean a sea of peace and serenity. And this was in the minds of the founders of the European Union when they first thought of the European community and then the European Union as the solution, the solution to those dramatic dimensions of war and conflict that for decades were part and parcel of our life in Europe with constant wars in between short periods of peace. The past 70 years have been peace, years of peace in Europe, and that has only been thanks to the European Union's existence. Obviously there have been clashes, there have been issues, but gradually Europe is becoming more integrated. And this is what we heard from a Giuseppe Milazzo before. I think the idea is that of rethinking and relaunching a new European constitution. It cannot be a mere window dressing or tops. I think about the direct election of European Commission, for example, and I think that obviously it needs to be focused on and Cedric Archie was quite right. Also, in commenting on the regions and the role of the regions, which must no longer be a marginal role. They can truly make a very vital contribution towards a multi-level dimension that will truly convey European values, which is very much in line with our own values as a people's party. The values that pay attention to local communities, to local interests and the first frontier of democracy, that is, local authorities, local autonomies and local communities. These local authorities are closest to citizens and our party is a political party. It's a European political family that can express its values, the values of Europe and President von der Leyen's leadership is displaying great vision, great foresightedness, particularly in regards to migration, agricultural policy. There are issues that need to be tackled and solved urgently, but relaunching neighborhood policy, relaunching European institutions from the standpoint of its bureaucracy and streamlining that democracy is truly something that we must work on. Let us hope that these seminars, these remote seminars will soon go back to being held live so that we can come together and display the determination that we all have to achieve change. Thank you very much. Today, we're adding a little food to the thought that hopefully will take us further ahead. Thank you very much. You mentioned Sergio Caci's comments earlier and I believe he wants to take the floor and make a few comments. Mr. Caci, you have the floor. I take the opportunity. I take this opportunity. And I wish to go back to what was said about Israel, what Tugay Tanarmal just mentioned. Yes, we can hear you fine. Thank you. Well, Israel, because of course this is a very, very special, special and warmly felt issue. The summit is, I think, is going on at present. President Tajani participated to an event that took place in the Jewish neighborhood in Rome and I attended as well. And there were many, many Italian politicians attending, so it was not anything that had to do with a specific party, but all parties were represented. And then I went to the website of the Palestinian Embassy and the ambassador, the Palestinian ambassador was complaining about the fact that there had been very few declarations by Italian politicians or European politicians about what was going on. My experience, well, my experience goes back to European institutions and I recall the experience of Mr. Milazzo and President Tajana. In Europe, the only state that recognizes Palestinian state as a state is only Sweden. The other states have never recognized it as a state and there were children at the event with boards declaring let's free Palestine from Hamas. But the public opinion is not really taking sides. I mean, they are not just siding with Israel, but of course they are considering also the difficulties of the Palestinian people. In the, in 89 we eliminated walls whereas now there they are building walls back again, since Israel is very close to the European culture. At some point Israel wanted to become a member of the European Europe. And so this closeness must also be accompanied by some advice, because the stances taken lately also by the Security Council at the UN by the Israeli president. Well, I don't, I don't approve, even if I had just a mere of a small, small municipality, but I have friends who work within institutions both in Palestine and Israel and I don't think it is acceptable. The end. We don't hear you Leonardo I think you need to switch on your mic. What about now. Yes. Thank you. Good. Okay, thank you very much for your comments I'd like to like our ask if anybody else would like to take the floor, whether speakers or participants, you're welcome to turn your mic on. I would like to make whatever comments you wish to make otherwise. I would give the floor to Dr argues if he's still with us, and perhaps ask him if he has any comments to make to the previous words. Mr Milat so if you'd like to take the floor. I would say to our now and Milat so that next time you come, I come to Sicily I'd like to be able to cross the bridge. Whether you come to see us or we come to see you. It would be great if we could cross the bridge over the street. Mr argues. Okay, you have the floor. I mean after the comments you heard from our participants. What about what sort of thoughts do you have now. In English, but I suppose that there's an interpreter that helps you with Italian. I would I wanted maybe taking a cue from what Vice President are now said to open this discussion a bit also in the context of the recovery funds. The recovery fund after the COVID the pandemic. I saw that in Italy there was a very strong dimension a regional dimension I saw that the region of Sicily, for example, made a very strong case for a number of infrastructure structural projects to be completed. So discussion about the airport in Mela and the metro metro system in Palermo and the straight to the machine up. I'm very interested to see your perspectives of this on whether this this process is satisfactory enough when I see when I see the process in Malta. I am I'm a bit disappointed in the sense that there is not. There's no public discussion about this. And, you know, I think this this process should be wider should involve a wider public discussion for the public to also be involved, because after all, we have European funding we have European regional policies but it is fundamental that we open up this process to the public. Because one of the elements that can actually allow us enable us to get Europe closer to the citizens if we keep the, you know, the process away from them then it will become much harder for the citizens actually to feel part of this. I don't know whether what kind of perspectives you have of this context. That's all from my end it's a question actually more than than a statement. Thank you very much. So I wanted to, I think, understand that there is an honorable guest. Colleague. Colleague. In the thank you to all of them who came and before we get started let's say the congratulations to the President of the Italian region, Professor Beta Norma. Thank you. Thank you. I thank you for the attention and passion you have helped us organize this initiative today. Thank you also to Pedro Girona and Francesco Cimó, who gave us the opportunity to organize it thanks to the Telepraties and especially thanks to the European Parliament, which has hosted this initiative today. Thank you to the European People's Party and to all those who are behind the scenes and in front of the scenes have been assisting us today. And I think that thinking about the Mediterranean perspective for the new conference on the future of Europe is a very original initiative. And it offers the opportunity to open up a whole new perspective that is quite unusual when we think about the future of Europe. But I think of what enabled the European People's Party to convey its values, its ideas, its founding engagement commitments that can truly give a useful contribution to making Europe less selfish and more interested and keen to solve the challenges that lie ahead of us across Europe and from north to south. So this is the perspective. I hope that today we were able to offer the EPP food for thought. And I hope that that food for thought will in fact engage citizens more closely via the platform created Europe-wide to bring together ideas and proposals and the thoughts of our citizenry for a Europe that truly can look at its future interpret the aspirations of some of the most trouble, more troubled areas, more marginal areas, so that there is a perspective of the future in the interests of the new generations. I think that's our duty. We've been fortunate enough to receive from the European institutions a great legacy. We need to be truly able to convey the best of all that to those who come after us. Thank you very much to Professor Gaetano Armao, it was his initiative that enabled us to come together today on a very interesting subject. I'd like also to thank the Honourable Giuseppe Milazzo for joining us. Mayor Sergio Cacci, Professor Peter Agus. Unfortunately, we had problems joining with Antonio Caittiani, whose secretariat has sent his apologies for being unable to be here today. But I'd also very much like to thank the European People's Party COA, all the people from the party who are behind the scenes. And who made this event possible. I hope there will be more like this, thanks to the efforts of the Insularity Group in the Committee of the Regions. So thanks to everyone. And as you said, hopefully next time we'll be able to meet face to face. But what matters is for us to be able to come together and think about the future of Europe. Thank you everyone and have a great day. Thanks once again. Thank you. Bye bye.