 We're going to proceed to point 16 of our agenda. We have a debate on U.S. and E.U. subnational entities, strengthening democracy, fostering growth, and development. It is my great honor and pleasure to welcome to this meeting of the Committee of the Regions Robin Voss is the President of the National Conference of State Legislatures. So the European Union and the United States are two key players in the international community. So as longtime friends and allies, our institutional and political relations are deeply intertwined at every level from the strong support to Ukraine and the fight against the Russian invasion to trade science, culture, and people-to-people ties. Many of you in your cities and regions also share strong bonds with the U.S. and U.S. states and cities. My region, the Azores, are just an example of that strong connection. There are more Azorian descendants living in the U.S. due to historic immigration than in the islands. And I think this happens all across Europe. So what is the idea? What is the purpose of having this debate? Well, may I point out two main reasons? First, because I think it is important to bring subnational entities like local and regional authorities, like states, to think and to act in the global stage, promoting and implementing cooperation between these kind of institutions, this level of institutions. But there is also one more reason that I think, personally, it's very, very important. It's important to strengthen at local communities' level to strengthen the links, the bonds between communities that share same principles, share same concerns, share same values. Some of the biggest challenges that the world is facing right now, that democracies are facing right now, can be addressed if we go local to deal with them. That's one of the ideas that made us invite Speaker Voss to our meeting, and that's one of the goals that we are working in the relationship between the Committee of the Regions and the National Conference of State Legislatures. Speaker Voss, President Voss, it is a great pleasure and a great honor to welcome you to the Committee of the Regions of the European Union Plenary Session here in Brussels. You have the floor, sir. Thank you very much, Mr. President. Thank you very much, Mr. President. Colleagues, it is a pleasure to join you today at the start of your 156th plenary session. Thank you for the invitation to address this distinguished group about topics that are of vital importance to both our 50 states and the 27 member states of the European Union. I am Robin Voss, Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly and President of the National Conference of State Legislatures. My home state of Wisconsin is located in the Midwestern United States along the Great Lakes just north of Chicago. Wisconsin is the home of many successful multinational companies, including S.C. Johnson, located in my own district, Harley Davidson, Rockwell Automation, Manpower, and many, many more. We're also home to 5.6 million citizens and some of the best cheese in the United States. As state and regional legislators, we are both uniquely positioned to understand the challenges facing our communities from both a local and global perspective, and it is local leaders who develop effective solutions that work for everyone. Subnational governments play a major role in strengthening global democracy and addressing the ever-changing needs of our citizens in this critically important time in our history. Or in Europe, supply chain disruptions, global economic uncertainty, COVID-19, these are all international events that have significantly disrupted the lives of our constituents, our friends, our neighbors, and our families. We all want to make life better for those we care about and leave our communities stronger for the generations that follow us. But this can't be accomplished in a vacuum. Local and regional governance requires a deeper understanding of and connection with the global community. The organization I lead, the National Conference of State Legislatures, otherwise known as NCSL, is the preeminent bipartisan organization for every state and territorial legislature in the United States. At a time of extreme polarization, having Democrats and Republicans work together at NCSL truly shows the potential of what is possible when the common good surpasses politics. As I sat here today using your translation services, it reminded me that perhaps in the United States we need translators for the Democrats and the Republicans. NCSL includes 7,386 state legislators who are elected in districts in their individual states and all legislative staff who work to support the institutions of our state legislatures. In America, states have the main governing and funding role for local government, primary and secondary education, courts, corrections, and economic development. While our federal government provides a significant amount of funding for transportation and healthcare, states also play a major role in those areas of our economy. We often say all politics is local and it's true. The work regional governments do around the world has the most direct impact on the lives of citizens, often significantly more than does the actions of our national governments. Founded in 1975, NCSL supports the process of creating policies and laws in the states. As a large research organization, NCSL tracks and analyzes legislation all across our country and provides the concise, timely information for those legislators hoping to learn from the successes and the failures of actions taken by other states. Just as different member states of the EU take varying approaches to certain policy questions, not all legislation passed in states can or should be uniform. Yet most states, like most nations, are facing common challenges that can be met with similar solutions. NCSL is an invaluable resource to compare laws across the states when enacting successful and impactful policy. NCSL provides lawmakers the opportunity to learn from one another and make modifications to best fit their states, regions, and localities. We also offer policy discussions by convening over 100 meetings per year, giving state lawmakers unparalleled opportunities to learn from one another, absorb new ideas, and engage in professional development to ensure that we are constantly improving our roles as elected officials. For the 50 years, NCSL has worked tirelessly to support democratic institutions both in the United States and across the world. In our increasingly challenging political environment, the health of the institutions which serve as the foundations of our democracies is sometimes sacrificed in the pursuit of political victories. Thanks to the work of organizations like NCSL, American Democracy, despite some challenges and setbacks recently, continues to function and to thrive. NCSL exists to strengthen the institution of the legislature, and there are several ways in which NCSL does that work. First, NCSL provides legislators and legislative staff with the information and skills they need to perform at a high level in the legislative environment. So this is timely information about the new health policy developments, up-to-date research on energy alternatives or professional development seminars on crucial skills like leadership, negotiation, or workplace conduct. NCSL provides legislatures and the people that work within their walls the necessary tools to excel in their positions. Secondly, NCSL is the only organization that simultaneously supports the work of individual legislators and looks beyond the contemporary work of these stewards to ensure the longevity of these institutions themselves. Every year, NCSL engages in dozens of technical assistance projects with legislatures across the country to ensure that legislatures are run as efficiently and effectively as possible. This work ensures that legislatures not often thought of as the most nimble of organizations are able to adapt and evolve alongside the societies that we serve. Finally, NCSL has an integral role in our federal system, a system where states must retain the ability to make laws not specifically enumerated in our U.S. Constitution. NCSL is the voice of state legislators in our capital and works closely with our federal delegations to enact policies that empower state legislatures. While many of you are working to attract new companies to your regions, we are fortunate that our biggest challenge is not attracting new investments. It is the lack of workers to fill the vacant jobs with our current employers. As a small business owner myself of over 30 years, I see these challenges every day. Today, Wisconsin has a historically low unemployment rate of 2.4 percent, which we consider full employment. So we are working to make ourselves appealing with the hope more people relocate to our state. The work we do as a legislature to ensure that Wisconsin remains an attractive location for business would not be successful without the support of NCSL. They provide us with quality information, guidance for our fiscal offices, and the advocacy of our interests in Washington, D.C. I also appreciate the management and leadership training I personally received at NCSL meetings and seminars. Here are my thoughts, proposals perhaps, of how NCSL and the Committee of the Regents can collaborate in the years ahead. While recognizing that the formal dealings of international affairs is often under the purview of national governments, we must not fail to seize upon this opportunity to work together as subnational entities to ensure that we are protecting our democracies and implementing policies that provide the greatest benefit to the largest number of our citizens. In this spirit, I propose that we take the opportunity to begin to engage in a more bilateral government exchanges exploring best practices in intergovernmental relations. As a Wisconsin legislature, we are already doing this. In late August, I will lead a delegation of 20 state legislators to Dublin as we seek to strengthen our ties with Europe and Ireland specifically. Our next annual meeting is in Indianapolis in mid-August, and we hope to see many of you there to interact with your American counterparts. Despite the differences between the U.S. Federal System and EU membership, both national and regional, there is much that we can learn from each one another about how best to communicate and coordinate between levels of government to ensure that the laws we are passing and the policies we are considering are complementary rather than antagonistic to each other. Learning best occurs when we develop long-term, in-person relationships like we are today. Second, I propose that when considering economic policies, we take the opportunity to leverage the interdependence of our economies and the years of trusted partnership that many of us share to ensure that we grow together instead of apart. The global economy is not a zero-sum game and certainly never should be between allies. I hope you share my passion for supporting business development and providing our citizens with vast economic opportunities. Let us engage in this work together, share best practices and work to ensure that future generations inherit a more prosperous and interconnected world. I challenge you at every opportunity to reflect on the importance of our democratic institutions in combating the forces that seek to revoke fundamental freedoms and separation of powers. We must all prioritize the well-being of our cherished institutions even when it is not politically convenient to do so. I urge you to join me in speaking about the need for renewed efforts to protect these institutions whenever possible to your constituents, your colleagues, your MPs and to the media. As Ronald Reagan, one of our greatest presidents, a defender of democratic principles and free societies once said, quote, freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction, unquote. These words echo louder than ever across Wisconsin, the United States, Europe and the world today. Given this incredible opportunity, we must all work together to protect that which we hold so dearly, our freedom and prosperity. Thank you for your attention and I look forward to our conversation and continued collaboration. Mr. President, thank you. Thank you so much, President Foss. Now I will give the floor to the President of the CVEX Commission, our colleague Patrick Molinos, for three minutes. Mr. President of the Committee of Regions, President, Mr. Speaker of the National Conference of State Legislatures, colleagues, I'm delighted that we have this opportunity today to have this discussion with our U.S. partners. Transatlantic dialogue is a key element of the EU's foreign policy. There are many areas where we have converging interests as geopolitical partners and already in 2020 we identified common objectives in the EU-U.S. programme for planetary change. But it is important, or global change, it is important to recall that all of this has to be implemented at a sub-state level if it is to be a success. Cities and regions are involved in global cooperation, they're involved in international negotiations on climate and biodiversity. They are key actors in the implementation of international agreements. You can only have a really effective global agreement if you involve the local level. It won't work without the determined and strong involvement of local authorities. The activism of many American cities like New York and Pittsburgh, meditating for climate and a resilient society, is an expression of this determined spirit that motivates local authorities around the world. And I welcome the Covenant of Mayors and the various international cooperation networks which are actively involved in implementing the aims of sustainable development. Our local authorities are true partners of great importance in order to supplement the action and sometimes perhaps even compensate for the action of state, of national governments. So this is why our different approaches and our complementarities need to be fully expressed in multilateral management of the current challenges we face. This is vital for our democracies. We need to have better understanding of our respective practices when it comes to elaborating responses or implementing policies that affect our citizens' daily lives. So mutual understanding can only be beneficial to all sides. Local representatives are responsible for effective policy implementation and also ensuring that policies are understood by citizens. This is particularly important at the moment where our democracies under threat from fake news and misinformation and the questioning of science on social media. We've seen a new phenomenon on both sides of the Atlantic recently, the geography of discontent. So we recognise the drivers of this discontent. There may be slightly different reasons for this depending on the peculiarities of each of our countries. We've recently seen an expression of this in France. But the way we address these problems, I think, is something that we should have in common. So I think we can have beneficial discussions between both of our organisations. And as you can understand, I'm fully prepared to facilitate future cooperation with the National Conference of State Legislatures. It goes to our colleague Emil Boak from the EPP. Dear presidents, ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, as we all know, the United States and the European Union have historically been close allies, sharing democratic values, commitment to human rights and the profound interest in fostering economic prosperity. Democracies all over the world are under attack. Liberal democracy and the rural law are under threat. We can never take our democracy for granted. So in this context, more than ever, the United States of America and the EU must act together and stand together to defend democracy and to protect its values. If not us, then who will protect democracy in this world? Are we going to let the French of authoritarianism to replace our values with authoritarian rules? Our weakness is their power. Our unity is their weakness. Democracy will prevail as long as we stand together. Now I want to share with you some sorts about local and regional authorities in promoting and protecting democracy and the importance of collaboration between local and regional authorities. Why? Because as you said, Mr. President, in the end, all democracy is local. And local and regional authorities have a decisive role in threatening democracy as they have the highest degree of public trust. For instance, sister city partnerships can ensure that the voices of local communities are heard on the global stage. I want to share with my example from the city of Luzhnapoca in the very heart of Romania, Transylvania. Just talking about sister city relationship, we have a sister city relationship with Michigan, with the East Lansing from Michigan, with Rockford, Illinois, and Columbia from South Carolina. And besides the exchange of business exchange, people-to-people exchange, we use the university contact to draw up our strategy of a city. It's a university city because I remember when I was in Michigan East Lansing, when I entered in East Lansing, I saw the entrance saying East Lansing, the home of Michigan State University. That was our starting point to change the strategy of our city to become a knowledge city and to move forward with our sister city partnership. Thank you so much. Thank you. Now the floor goes to our colleague, Jelena Drehanin. You have the floor. Thank you and welcome, Mr. Ross. It's a pleasure to listen to you and we really look forward for this special event. And it could have happened sooner, I think, but it's never too late. Anyway, I would say after the Second World War, America and Europe was very tight in rebuilding not just our countries, but also democratic institutions. And we had a friendship that was very close and we learned from each other. I would say you mentioned Mr. Reagan with the generation is one way, democracy is one generation away. Well, there is a Chinese proverb that says about wealth. That wealth is not to last beyond three generations. And in one way, I can feel that's what's happening in Europe, that we are kind of, you know, looking at our democracy now three generations away because our young people, they don't really trust our institutions and our democratic system and don't participate like maybe their parents or grandparents did. And we are working so hard with Conference of Future and other, using other tools to regain and re-boost the trust in our democratic system. So my hope, and I say for the EPP Group and others, we really hope that we can work together because we can learn from each other because when we don't have the trust for political solutions, we see riots. You had them in America, we see them now in France, and it's not the first time we had riots. So when we are talking about trust in the political systems, maybe it's abstract, but the reality is riots because people don't really trust that the society can solve difficult problems and that they are not a part of the society. So I would like to finish that I hope with this visit here and this important dialogue that we have that we can re-boost our friendship and also learn from each other and cooperate with best practices because I think the pandemic and the war has opened our eyes and realized that we need all the friends we can bring to the table and together we are united. So good luck and I hope we will see each other again. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Dekoster, you have the floor. Mr. Dekoster, thank you President, Mr. Speaker. You have placed our values at the heart of relations between our two organizations. These are the values that are at the heart of the transatlantic relationship. I happen to come from a region in France which has a very special relationship with the state of Maryland, a link that was created through shared history and which has helped found this foundation of common values drawing its inspiration from the enlightenment and the values of the founding fathers. And of course this all has a birthplace, the town of Saint-Homer. There was an English College of Jesuits founded in 1592 in Saint-Homer which led to the migration of English Catholics to that state in the United States. And one of those families was the Carroll family. That was the only Catholic signature of the Declaration of Independence. And John Carroll was the first bishop who founded Georgetown University. But this shared history is the basis for our work in the Saint-Homer Foundation for transatlantic relations and a masterclass is taking place there this week in my city, in that foundation, bringing together students from Georgetown who are currently spending time in our city. And of course these values are the basis of the partnership agreement signed in December 2020 between Xavier Bertrand and the Maryland Governor, Mary Hogan, which sets out three areas of cooperation, first of all in education through the kind of student mobility that I refer to just now, mobility of high school students and artists, and also biotechnology and cybersecurity expertise and also in the area of economics with startup incubators exchanging about their local markets. And for this cooperation there has to be trust. And that of course characterizes the relationship between our authorities and those of Maryland. And of course this trust is based on shared values, values that are at the heart of our transatlantic relationship, which are under attack now, including on the European continent. So that is why I share your appeal for strengthened links between European and US local authorities. It is urgent that we should strengthen our links in order to fight the battle to defend our democratic values. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. de Koster. Now the floor goes to member Schreiber. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the ECR, I would like to extend a warm welcome to you, as big of us, to our plenary session. We can certainly learn a lot from each other. And my group and I are delighted at this new initiative for cooperation between our committee and the US Conference of State Legislatures. When we consider the European-American partnership we tend to think of global issues, such as the fight against terrorism, the protection of peace and human rights, and trade. But we are representatives of local and regional authorities, and we therefore know what is really important for the everyday lives of our citizens. And the most important thing for them is what happens locally and regionally. And this is why our cooperation is so important in this area. The federal government and the federal union of EU member states are different things, but I think we have similar aims at local and regional level. People want jobs, they want to live in peace and security. They want to have high quality education. People tend to move to where they can find work, elderly people need good care. But local communities are also something which is very important now in times of war, which is a haven for refugees fleeing this war. Ladies and gentlemen, from the very beginning of Russia's war on Ukraine, millions of Ukrainians have found refuge in my home country, Poland, and regions are on the front line when it comes to welcoming and sheltering these refugees. My region has been endeavouring from the very beginning of the conflict to care for children, provide them access to education, and to help women find work when they have to flee their country so that the people who have had to take refuge in Poland from the war in Ukraine have the least possible negative impact on their development. This is something that we must keep at the front of our minds and we shouldn't be distracted by matters of lesser importance. So these are important issues at local level too. Thank you, President. Dear President Vos, I had the pleasure of meeting you last year in the Flemish parliament and I'm very happy to see you again here in Brussels, in Flanders, in Europe. That the United States and European Union have very much in common needs no convincing. We share a strong belief in democracy. We share the same values, the rule of law and an open market economy. And we are tied together through a strong transatlantic partnership, connecting us for the future as we are facing common challenges on geopolitical level but also on an economic level or in tackling climate change. Although the cooperation is very far-going, it's often forgotten that the US is more than the federal government or that the European Union is more that the European Commission, the Council or its member states. Transatlantic cooperation also needs to be realized at regional and local level and we as regional and local leaders have a responsibility to contribute to that cooperation. We need to have an open dialogue allowing the exchange of best practices and the development of coordinated policies for example to tackle climate change. Let us learn from each other in order to jointly build a sustainable and resilient future. Next, I think we can for example exchange ideas on migration, how to tackle illegal migration, how to realize a full integration of immigrants into our societies. We see that regional governments have placed an important role. And lastly trade. I know it's a competence of the federal government but I urge you to use your platform to advocate for a comprehensive EU-euros trade agreement. In this uncertain times we need to be open to each other with the mutual, beneficial, far-reaching trade agreement. I thank you. Thank you. Now the floor goes to our member Florian Siegmann. Mr President, Mr Foss, thank you very much for your visit to us. Transatlantic cooperation is extremely important, of paramount importance in such difficult times. It is vital that we grow together and works best of course through local initiatives. In Bavaria we've launched new initiatives for exchange of young people not just aimed at students but also apprentices and schoolchildren so that they also have the opportunity of experiencing exchanges with the United States because we are convinced that transatlantic exchanges ought not to be the privilege of a few but open to the broader community. Democracies stand before common challenges. They're threatened by disinformation, fake news as many have said and so once again it's so important we work together. Many platform operators active in our countries have their headquarters in the United States and I think what distinguishes us from so many other regions in the world is that understanding of society is based on human rights and fundamental rights that's what underpins our understanding of politics and we mustn't lose sight of that and cling to those values. The European Union has submitted the Green Deal, presented the Green Deal to show the way forward to show how we as industrial nations can continue to develop in a climate friendly way the Americans have adopted the Inflation Reduction Act there is global competition in climate friendly technologies and technologies of the future but despite this competition I hope we will succeed within our respective democracies to attract these technologies and not leave them in the sole preserve of countries like China. Thank you. Now the floor goes to Member Rastislav Trinka. The floor goes to Member Dietmar Brooks. Mr President, colleagues, dear guests, the transatlantic axis is needed more than ever at a time of geopolitical change. I think the common ground between the United States and the EU should be strengthened further and this is particularly true of the sub-national level and that is why I'm so delighted at your visit today and I'm grateful to this exchange with our US friends. My parliament, North Rhine-Westphalia, represents Europe's most populous region million inhabitants. We have a thriving economy in structural change with international relations including with the United States. As a region we have not only a partnership with Pennsylvania including parliamentary exchanges with Pennsylvania but we also have a US North Rhine-Westphalian parliamentary cooperation group and we have regular meetings with representatives of your federal states so I'd like to take this opportunity of your presence, speak of us, to invite the NCSL to work more closely with us, dialogue between the NCSL and the biggest regional parliament of Europe is something that will be mutually beneficial so looking forward to great cooperation with you. Member Schwarzkiffer. Thank you, dear Mr. President, dear colleagues. Much more needs to be done to create a thriving links between European and US municipalities. Of course overcoming distance is a difficult task but it's much easier now than in the past. I think it's important to strengthen the links on lower levels as well to get to know each other. We heard a lot of possible ways of cooperation but in many cases it is a question of money because many local authorities cannot even maintain contacts within the European Union let alone across the ocean. So we have to find a way to make the financial resources available. Thank you. Thank you. Now the floor goes to Member Ufu Kaya. Mr. President, thank you. I can say as a former Hill staffer who worked for the late congressman Hastings and tasted most of America's delicacies that Wisconsin indeed has the best cheese of the United States. Almost as good as the Dutch Gouda I have to say but focusing on the issue I think it's really good that the Committee of the Regents and the NCLS are connecting and hopefully this will, as my colleague from the Greens said, evolve into more visits and cooperation because we see that in the local level a lot of things are happening. When the previous administration of the U.S. pulled out of the Paris agreements we saw several local and regional players in the United States still having efforts to face climate change and pull actions so all our citizens have access to clean air, clean water. These are real issues that are hitting our citizens here in Europe and in the United States and as local and regional governments we can learn a lot from each other and I hope we can further engage in that and tackle those issues. Thank you. Thank you. You both never tasted the Zorian cheese. No. We are open for it. Mr Beaver, you have the floor. Thank you, dear Chair and dear President, for thank you for being with us today. I must have come from a small country of Luxembourg and I know you have a town named Luxembourg in the state of Wisconsin even in a village called Belgium. So I think only this underlines the deep-rooted friendship we have and the strong bonds between the U.S. and Europe. I think that's an important matter to mention here. Therefore let me suggest three concrete points to bring our cooperation forward. First, learn from each other. Today many American mayors and governors are investing in clean energy and climate production. The Inflation Reduction Act is a big boost but also other challenges are multiple today not to mention the coming fight for democracy and freedom in Ukraine and against dictatorship but also climate change, biodiversity loss and in the context of biodiversity I had the opportunity to meet a number of American mayors and I learned that both from both sides it's a wish to collaborate stronger, more strongly together. So let's establish a platform for exchanging best practices among these American projects and the Green Deal projects in our towns. Second, cooperation with our federal level. The Federal Transatlantic Corporation has progressed a lot in the last year. The U.S.-EU Energy Council, the Transatlantic Trade, the Technology Council to name a few. So let's provide this policy forum with a complementary forum engaging state legislators and mayors from both sides. Third, funding and support. On our side the foreign policy instrument of the external action service has many programs financing transatlantic exchanges and cooperation. And on your side you have a new special representative for city and state diplomacy established only some months ago in this Department of States. So let's call for a meeting with your Department of States and our European external action service to frame the funding and support for our cooperation in order to foster and strengthen democracy on both sides of the Atlantic. Thank you. Now the floor goes to member Jonek Pole. You have the floor. Yes, thank you very much. I would like really as elected here in Brussels to welcome Mr. Voss in the capital of Belgium and the region of Brussels capital. I would also like to thank the chair Mr. Vasco Cordero to organize this very important and timely debate. We have many challenges. First of all we have climate change. I think that it's a challenge that we have in common and there is really no time to pause. On the contrary we need to accelerate the fight against climate change and to fight for transition. But there is also something important which is the war in Ukraine. We have to continue to work together to support Ukraine against the Russian invasion against the Russian aggression and to face the economic consequences of the war and the cost of living crisis for citizens. But there is also something very important and in the title of this debate is about strengthening democracy. Yesterday we had an important debate on how to find this information for an intervention with an MEP, a member of the European Parliament, half had six months and this is really a topic that we have to continue. But about strengthening democracy I also would like to underline an element, a fact that was deeply shocking for all of us I believe which was what happened on the January 6th, 2021 with the attack on Capitol Hill. It's remind us the fight for democracy is so important and how we have to be united. So I truly believe that it's important that we continue the debate together that we strengthen the relationship also at local level. Because also for that even the role played by local authorities was so important to defend US democracy. So I'm really glad that we continue the work together and that together reinforce the trust of citizens in public administration and in public services. Thank you very much. Thank you. Now the floor goes to member Luca Menesini. Thank you very much indeed, President, and thank you, of our suffer being with us today. I'm from Luca in Tuscany. We have 19 offices in the United States and they're more numerous in your country than in my country. So the relationships that we have is a very strong relationship with your country and we can also I think forge a stronger bond between our local administrations. We've heard just now from the previous speaker about the threats that our democracy is under and this must be a common objective. We must strengthen democracy in Europe and in the United States and overcome these threats at our doorstep. Now we've had a great boost since the Second World War. It was thanks to the Marshall Plan that Europe really took off and now we need or we have a huge programme now in Europe which is similar to the Marshall programme but we don't want to break apart. We need to keep a very strong bond between our continents. There is a very important challenge which is the climate challenge also facing us. So it's a very positive, we have a very positive relationship and we need to build on these relationships between our local authorities too. Thank you. Member Emma Blaine, you have the floor. Thank you Mr President. I welcome the debate here today and in particular to hear Mr Ross speak to us here. We in Ireland have seen firsthand the benefits of sister city programmes from Donegal to Limerick and indeed many cities in between and regions and we enjoy a strong bond with the US. Historically there has been no other nation closer to the US either geographically or emotionally with enduring historical cultural ties between the many Irish immigrants and their familial ties to the homeland. These ties between us are so strong that they have been immeasurably important in healing the wounds of our nation with the role of the US being fundamental in the peace process and we thank you for that. The anniversary of JFK's visit to Ireland has been celebrated and discussed all over Irish airwaves in recent weeks and the huge success of President Biden's recent visit all demonstrated once again the special relationship between our two lands one tiny but mighty and one immense. The success of a relationship which I believe can be a blueprint for the rest of us in the EU. So I look forward to welcoming you Mr Ross to my home city of Dublin later this year. Thank you. Thank you. Now the floor goes to President Marcula. Thank you chair and congratulations for this topic and timely debate that we are having and as Mr Ross as you pointed out so there's so much that we can learn from each other and especially when I compare my let's say history with the US so so many of the states so you have so many differences but that's the same in Europe. I come from Finland the northernmost country of the EU and we share a lot of similarities with Wisconsin the northern climate a lot of our industry and businesses and 20 years ago as a member of the parliament in Finland I initiated a special kind of benchmarking and bench learning study between Finland and Wisconsin we did that very extensively learned from your very low unemployment rate but the structure of and renewal of the businesses that was the time when Tommy Thompson was your governor and she was really so positive change maker on many of the things we had that very closely done with the University of Wisconsin Madison and we shared a lot we even brought a group of politicians members of parliament from Finland to if we see it spend a week there and so on we have been going on much much deeper on that and this is what I challenge us in Europe as well so we definitely need to strengthen this and I very much like in a way to come back I've been more than 10 times spent several months in Madison as well but going to different parts all the way up to the northern part where you have many of the villages, small towns which have even the Finnish names, Oulu and the others so that's really a great kind of experience that we can share the cultural background and learn from each other so please keep on moving and get the Europe and the US to do more and especially now when I come from Finland with the newest NATO member countries so there is time now to move on and we hope that you all do all your best to get Sweden as well to be approved as a NATO, full NATO member and we can strengthen that role as well, thank you Thank you, now the floor goes to Member McDonnell Thank you President and also very welcome to Mr Voss As an Irish member of the Committee of the Regions I can only confirm that our wish to continue the excellent relations between our two continents Only last week in my city, Gower a film was launched which our Irish colleague referred to was launched in my city of President Kendi's visit in 1963 last month, 60 years ago and a film that portrayed all of the hidden shots that were never seen were included in this film and the mayor of the city, Councillor Hoare travelled to the USA last week to launch it in America and I just think that the wonderful relationships that we have over many, many centuries is so important during the famine a huge amount of Irish travelled to the USA and were given a life and that's where the roots of the Irish started up in becoming another part of Ireland you were like another country within it and the Irish roots are so important and I have been on visits as mayor in the past and I have found that people who are five generations are so Irish, it is unbelievable so I understand that you are coming to Dublin as my Irish colleague said on about three or four weeks time to keep the relationship going but I just hope that you will get 100,000 welcomes to our country to continue the wonderful relationship and all I just say is let's hope that green carrot will once and for all be granted Thank you so much I don't have any other request for the floor at this moment so we are heading to the conclusion of this point before I give the floor to President Foss we received a video message from the mayor of New York City Mr. Eric Adams, we are just going to see it then I will give the floor to Mr. Foss for final remarks May we have the video? This is Eric Adams, mayor of New York City I want to thank the leadership of the European Union Parliament's Committee of the Regents for inviting me today and I bring greetings to all the honored guests present New York City and the European Union have a strong bond that has continued to grow like New York City, EU member states have been a crossroads of cultures and discourse just like our five boroughs your countries are vibrant locations to live and dynamic places to do business local governments have become key partners to national governments in the United States the European Union and elsewhere as we face a world where climate shocks, pandemics political violence and economic crisis multiply working together is more important than ever now is the time for cities to lead my administration has been deeply engaged in city leadership as a way of sharing best practices with our global counterparts we are committed to working with all European Union countries we count on your partnership on so many important fronts from our business relationships to our cultural exchange to public safety now we all know that the last few years have been tough on every city in every nation to overcome these challenges we must think about ways to do better we must commit ourselves to equity and inclusion as the foundation of our efforts and provide people with the jobs, housing and healthcare they need and we must spoke to keep all people safe from extreme weather and climate disasters here in New York City we have been getting it done we're collaborating with the EU and other nations on public safety we're keeping our streets clean and lively we're promoting healthy eating habits across the five boroughs including in our schools and hospitals and we're cutting our carbon emissions and building massive resiliency projects to secure our cities future this is what cities must do this is how we get stuff done but we don't get stuff done alone as the saying goes if you want to go fast go alone but if you want to go far go together that is why we have been active in supporting Ukraine New York City is home to the largest Ukrainian population in the US and we have been supporting Ukraine with supplies and expertise from agencies including our Office of Emergency Management and the FDNY to help them through this unjust war all of us as leaders of our cities must come together to make a difference I look forward to continue to force a strong relationship with each of you thank you President Voss you have the floor for final remarks thank you again Mr. President and members it's interesting when my wife Michelle and I were in the taxi coming over today we asked the driver if he had been to the United States and like many Europeans he had been to New York City or perhaps Las Vegas or perhaps San Francisco but very few Americans or Europeans venture out of the big cities across the nations so I would encourage each of us to make sure that your constituents know that the United States is more than a few big cities and I will remind my friends and colleagues that Europe is more than Paris, Dublin and Berlin when we think about the future of our continents it is incredibly important for us to first remember that the friendship that has lasted over 200 years has been beneficial to both sides of the Atlantic there is no stronger trade relationship there is no stronger partnership that the United States has than that with the European Union and so many of our allies but this is a time of great political peril I worry about the future of our entire planet number one because of the war that is now facing Europe and I worry about the ability for our citizens to differentiate between what is fact and what is fiction that is something that affects every one of us no matter the language that we speak or the continent on which we reside NCSL and the Committee of the Regions I think will be some of the forefront of helping to fight what we know is a problem on our planet I invite all of you again to visit us if you come to the United States please let us know through the Committee on the Regions we would love to be your host in Wisconsin and we also have delegations from every one of our states who would love to participate welcome you and show you the best parts of their regions that are not the big cities so with that I appreciate your time today I look forward to the continuing partnership and I hope to see many of you along the opportunity to visit thank you President Voss it has been our pleasure and honor to have you here today with us I think there are some conclusions we can take from the debate and one of those conclusions is that one of the challenges we have had is to give the institutional framework to a cooperation at this level NCSL and the Committee of the Regions of a cooperation that already exists of links, bonds that already exists between families, between communities across Europe and across the US may we be able to do that for the benefits of the ones that we serve thank you so much now ladies and gentlemen