 So, thank you very much, President Sissi Kostas, mayors, presidents, representatives of Europe's regions and cities, and dear Vice President Sefkovic. Indeed, I come from a federal state, and when I first got involved in active politics, I was elected to the local council of my hometown. After that, I became cabinet minister in the government of Lower Saxony. I was responsible for social affairs, healthcare and families, and I learned a lot from local politics. You realize that it makes a big difference how politics is implemented on the ground. Local and regional politics is never abstract. It's about families, it's about workers, it's about communities, and it's about people who care about their communities. And this is a lesson I have always tried to keep in mind, first in Berlin and later on here in Brussels, in the middle of Europe. Local and regional governments have their finger on the pulse of Europe's citizens. And President, I know very well what an invaluable advantage this is. It not only helps to solve small and everyday problems, but it also helps to master, as you've said, the great challenges of our time. The coronavirus is one of its challenges. Yes, it has revealed our fragility, but we also have the considerable strength that Europe has. A strength that came from the heart of our communities. A link of solidarity that has helped millions of people to get through the disease and the most difficult months of lockdown. You have been witness to this solidarity all around you. And you have contributed every day since the beginning of the pandemic. Local authorities are the first line of defence, as you said, when the crisis hit. You have sent local police and volunteers to ensure that the situation of elderly people is isolated in every village. You have been with women who were victims of violence within their own homes. You have brought masks and food to those who couldn't afford it. You have put in place mobile test centres to ensure that health care is available to the closest of your citizens. And Europeans know everything, what their mother, their governor or their municipal councillors have done to them. This clearly appears in the barometer that you are presenting today, Mr. President. And you continue to be the institutions in which the citizens of our Union have the most confidence. Your action has allowed you to feel that they were not alone, even when they couldn't leave their homes. But I also know that sometimes you have felt alone. You have felt that you weren't receiving the support that you need to help your people. Yes, this crisis has tested our Union's cohesion. And some regions were hit harder or earlier. Not all countries had the same financial strength. And earlier this year, we all felt the risk that some parts of our Union would recover at a slower pace, that they would stay behind, that they would start drifting apart. We saw how fragile our achievements can be. But we have acted. Europe has acted. And indeed, this summer, we agreed on a revamped EU budget and a recovery plan that we call Next Generation EU, 1.8 trillion euros, worth 13 percent of our Union's national income. And with Next Generation EU, we want to give all member states a fair chance to overcome the crisis and to modernize. And regions and cities will be at the core of Next Generation EU. Part of the funding will directly address the difficult situation that you are facing now. We call it React EU, Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories. It will be available in the next two years to finance employment subsidies or short-time work schemes or to provide liquidity to SMEs. And this will help save thousands of businesses and millions of jobs throughout our Union. The same goes for our health systems. We all know that the quality of healthcare varies widely across our Union. But all European citizens have the same right to health. Next Generation EU's resources will therefore target the resilience of our health systems. The European funds will enable investments in new hospitals, better equipment, and a stronger healthcare system, and not only in the big cities, but also in more remote regions. Additionally, Next Generation EU looks far beyond crisis response. No administration should have to choose between responding to a crisis and investing in the future. Next Generation EU will mend our social fabric and repair balance sheets across Europe. And while we are doing this, we press fast forward towards a green, a digital, and a resilient future. We want to use these investments not only to restart the economy. We also want to use them to improve the air we breathe in our cities or to help small and medium enterprises take up the digital solutions. And for all this, local administrations must be in the driving seat. I think this year we have built together a very good cooperation under difficult circumstances, without question. And this week we have also sent a very clear message to the government of our member states. We find that cities and regions of the beginning should be involved in the concept of national construction plans. They can achieve valuable contributions. The main cities should vote with them, because we all know that local administrations are the ones who fill the European projects with life. You just presented it, Mr. President, that was to be grasped. And so you also have a great responsibility. But I know that you can do that well. The success of Next Generation EU depends on each and every one of you. It depends on your determination, your ability, your city and your region to reinvent itself as a greener and healthier place. The success depends on around one million communal responsibilities in Europe. So much depends on that. One-third of the 750 billion investment from Next Generation EU will finance our European Green Deal objectives. New resources will be available for your green plans. The resources will come from Europe. But the ideas must come from you. For instance, new resources for one million electric charging points across Europe. Or resources, as you said, President, to finance a just transition in the regions that have to take a bigger leap. It's the future of our territories that is at stake. When member states will draw their just transition plans, you should be part of the conversation. And let me give you an example. Next Generation EU will only succeed if we play as a team. So in two days from now, we will launch the renovation wave. We want to make public buildings and private homes more energy efficient and more comfortable all across Europe. We all know that our buildings are responsible for 40% of our energy consumption. And some buildings are already being renovated or retrofitted. But at the current pace, it would take more than a century to bring emissions from our buildings to zeroes. So we must speed up. And the good news is, by doing so, we can create new jobs in the construction sector and way beyond. So the renovation wave will focus specifically on schools, on hospitals, on social housing, for which local governments are usually responsible. So it will be up to you to bring the renovation wave into our cities and into our regions. We need you to engage with citizens and neighborhoods but also with other cities that share the same ambition. And I know that many of you already share this vision of a greener future. A couple of weeks ago, I was in Lisbon, where the city hall dating back to 1880 has just been entirely renovated. And this has cut the building's electricity usage from the grid by more than half. Or take Italy's Emilia Romagna region. That is already incentivizing the use of bikes to promote socially distanced mobility. So there are so many green solutions that are just waiting to happen. And therefore, next generation EU is your opportunity to bring them to life. The same goes for digitalization. Some of our regions, from the Basque country to the Danube, are already creating new hubs for digital innovation. Places where all kinds can thrive, digital startups looking for new customers or traditional industries that are discovering the potential of data and artificial intelligence. But we also know the other side of the coin. Today, 40% of people living in rural areas still don't have access to the most basic high-speed internet. But we all know that these connections are the prerequisite for homeworking, home learning, online shopping. And without broadband, it is not possible to build or run a business effectively today. Or to build, for example, a smart city services that will keep your neighborhood cleaner, safer and more livable. Here, too, next generation EU is a unique chance to expand 5G, 6G, and fiber and bring them finally to every village. And again, this will only be possible with your support, your support to prioritize investment and coordinate public works on the ground. We want to listen to you. We want to hear from you what the best solutions are, solutions on access to infrastructure information or speedy permitting and single administrative contact points. We want to boost digital infrastructure, expand digital public services, and give the entrepreneurs the digital skills they need to succeed. We will create a European cloud and neutral data spaces because we think companies and universities should be able to share their data safely and to access them. It's an enormous wealth in these data. But we need you to promote the real hubs where academia meets businesses, tech meets manufacturing, where innovation is born. So much of this lies in your hands. And, basically, you can be a front-runner and a model for others. Europe will only be successful in the digital age if its cities and regions succeed. And what I am asking from you today is more than a list of projects and initiatives. It is a vision. And, President, you started to give it to me. A vision for the future tailored for your territories. A vision what cities and territories you want to leave to your children. I know there are a lot of ideas out there. The next generation, you, is here for them. So it's your moment. It is your opportunity. And it is our shared responsibility. Long live Europe. Thank you.