 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. She will join us remotely online. It is our pleasure to welcome her to our debate. I would also like to welcome Barry Andrews, member of the European Parliament, and Rafaal Traskowski, chair of the Envy Commission, and also Richard Riu, who's the rapporteur of the opinion, as part of this debate. The opinion is on the progress in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Welcome, sir. Welcome. I would also like to acknowledge the presence among us of His Excellency Ambassador Anu Obina of Nigeria is joining us for this debate. Welcome, sir. It's a pleasure and an honor to have you with us. Now we're going to proceed, ladies and gentlemen. It is my pleasure to give the floor for 10 minutes, more or less, that means five minutes. Madam Deputy Secretary General, can you hear me? Yes, I can hear you. Can you hear me? I can hear you, and I can see you. Welcome. Thank you. Madam, you have the floor for five minutes. Please go ahead. Thank you very much. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for the opportunity to address the Committee of the Regions and to help renew the impetus on implementing the Sustainable Development Goals at regional and local levels. I'd like to commend your commitment to prepare and present the first European Union voluntary reviews on the SDGs this year. This will happen. This will be an important opportunity to take stock of the EU's internal and external implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and to look at best practices. From your work on climate and biodiversity to your innovative partnerships and your leadership on data and monitoring, I commend Europe's commitment to a sustainable continent in a sustainable world. Ladies and gentlemen, it's no secret that halfway through the implementation of the SDGs, we are not on track. After decades of progress, key indicators on hunger and poverty are going into reverse. The climate emergency is accelerating and inequalities are growing. The world is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic socioeconomic impact. The war in Ukraine has now brought enormous suffering and heartbreak to Europe and turbocharged global crises and access to food, energy, and finance. We urgently need to redouble our efforts on sustainable development and the 2030 agenda. As members of the European Committee of Regents, you have an essential role in bringing the SDGs down to earth and making them real and concrete in people's lives. You have a unique contact with people and communities at local and regional levels. Your engagement with underrepresented groups, including women and girls, young people, and those who are isolated or marginalized can empower them and bring the SDGs to life. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, if we're to achieve the SDGs, they must deliver for people in cities and regions. The UN's voluntary local reviews showcase inspiring examples of action from Argentina to Japan via Hawaii and Finland. Local action is essential to mobilize key constituencies, including civil society, the private sector and academia, all critical to SDG implementation. Local partnerships can spark innovative new ideas, solutions that accelerate progress. Cities and regions in the European Union can also play an important role beyond Europe's borders through your learning exchanges and partnerships with local governments in other countries around the world. Last October, I had the pleasure of opening the local 2030 secretariat in Bilbao. I once again thank the Basque authorities and the government of Spain for their strong support. Local 2030 is a strategic network that aims to help local and regional leaders around the world to better share practices, implement strategies to advance the SDGs. And I'd like to invite you to participate in the local 2030 and lend your support. Ladies and gentlemen, at the global level, there's growing understanding that the challenges of our age from climate crisis to dangers posed by unregulated technologies cannot be solved by governments alone. The Secretary General has set out proposals for an inclusive multilateralism that benefits the insights and approaches of local and regional governments, civil society, the private sector, academia, and more. We're determined to amplify the voices of local governments, young people, women, at all levels of decision making. In closing, I urge you all to play a full part in the SDG summit in New York in September. This will be the centerpiece of our work on sustainable development this year, an opportunity to agree on transformative practices to rescue the SDGs and get back on track for implementation by 2030. Policies and initiatives that have been tried and tested by cities and regions can catalyze the transformation that will save and improve lives and livelihoods around the world. We count on you to bring your strong engagement, creative ideas, and energies to the SDG summit. I wish you a productive session. Thank you. Well, thank you so much, Madam Deputy Secretary General. We know you have a very tight schedule, but we invite you to stay with us as long as you can. And now it's my pleasure to give the floor to the member of the European Parliament, Barry Andrews. Sir, you have the floor for five minutes. Thank you, Mr. President. Excellency, Deputy Secretary General Rapporteur and colleagues, it's a great honor to be here with you this afternoon at this plenary session to discuss this critical issue at a critical time where the Sustainable Development Goals, as the Deputy Secretary General just noted, the SDGs are not on track, and this is a pivotal year for the Sustainable Development Goals. So this debate could not be more timely. Each of us in this room, in my opinion, is a vital role to play in shaping the future of our continent and the world. Agenda 2030 and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals are simply the only collective and comprehensive vision we have for a better and more sustainable future. They're the only internationally agreed framework for sustainable and fair development and if we don't pursue this agenda, it will come at a great cost. In this era of polycrisis, of unprecedented uncertainty, we must cling on to the SDGs for dear life. As we approach the midpoint of Agenda 2030, it is clear, as the Deputy Secretary General just said, that the SDGs are in danger. Most recent studies show that globally, the SDGs are regressing. The pandemic has had devastating impacts. Such as pushing over 90 million people into extreme poverty over the last three years. SDG won. Inequality is on the rise. Fewer people have access to education and to healthcare. The record temperatures reached this summer were a reminder that we are well and truly on the way to exceeding temperatures of one and a half degrees above pre-industrial levels. And as the events in Afghanistan and Iran have shown, gender equality is a battle that we must keep fighting for years to come. The challenges that we face are complex and pressing, from the growing threat of climate change to the increasing inequality and poverty and conflict and instability, to the rapid erosion of the planet's biodiversity. And if we are to achieve a better future for all, we must act with urgency and determination. This requires a strong and visionary leadership and the EU must take a leading role in implementing the SDGs in the same way that the European Union took a leading role in crafting the sustainable development goals in 2015. The EU has a unique responsibility and opportunity to show leadership. Eight years after the adoption of the goals, the EU still has no strategy. And I repeat, the EU has no strategy for implementing the SDGs. This means the EU has no targets. It has no financing plan. And is it any wonder then that progress in the EU is at a standstill despite our wealth of resources and capacities? With this committee of the region's opinion, there is now a chorus of voices singing from the same hymn sheet. Citizens agree. Civil society and the private sector agree, as do the member states at all levels of government. It is high time that the EU adopts an overarching high-level strategy to implement the SDGs, one that is ambitious, integrated and inclusive, and one that brings together all actors to deliver the change that we need. This strategy must be grounded in a clear understanding of the interlinked and interconnected nature of the sustainable development goals, and it must be based on a comprehensive and integrated approach to sustainable development. It must recognize the importance of economic, environmental and social sustainability. It must also recognize the leading role that the EU must play in the global efforts to implement the sustainable development goals. The fact that the EU has presented its first voluntary review at this year's HLPF will be a strong demonstration of the EU's commitments to the goals. This is the first international organization to do a voluntary review to the HLPF. But without a strategy, we cannot make meaningful progress, and this too sends a message to the international community. I would like to commend Rapporteur Ricardo Rio and the shadow rapporteurs for this tremendous work. This opinion is informative, insightful, and highly political. I would simply urge the European Commission to take heed of this message. I wonder how many times in history has it happened that the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee, and the Committee of the Regions all came to the same conclusions. So let us rise to this challenge, let us demonstrate the leadership and the ambition that we need to achieve a better, more sustainable future for all, and let us work together across borders and across sectors to deliver the change that we need. Thank you. Thank you. Now the floor goes to the rapporteur, Ricardo Rio, three minutes. Dear President, Distinguished Union, Deputy Secretary-General, Honorable Member of the European Parliament, dear colleagues, I would like to thank very much Ms. Mohamed and MEP Andrews for their participation and support today. I think that the presence of the Deputy Secretary-General is the biggest boost to the idea that we need to strengthen the localization of the STGs that we have been advocating here at the Committee of the Regions for a couple of years now. As some of you may know, this is the second opinion in which I am a rapporteur in the latest years on the STGs. And in the latest months, the evolution of the fulfillment of the goals didn't improve. It had a setback with all those circumstances that we had to deal with, the energy crisis, the war in Ukraine, the problems with inflation. And if it wasn't so bad as it will be expected under these circumstances, it was because of the commitment of the local and regional authorities that are doing an amazing job all over Europe. And this is why, in my opinion, this one that we are discussing today, I have two main priorities. The first one is that we need to boost the implementation of the STGs within the EU as there is a real danger that we missed the 2030 mark. I am the mayor of the city of Braga and I have been using for almost all my mandates the STGs to improve the lives of my inhabitants. Talking about the sustainable development goals is talking about the quality of our life for our citizens. And I am a fervent believer of the added value of this tool. And this is why I am also championing them at the EU level with your support. Many cities and regions are using them as a recovery strategy. Many city networks such as Zero Cities, CMR and others are supporting this approach. And OECD has been working a lot with the core to enhance the role of the local and regional authorities in these matters. Member States and EU institutions must follow this lead. I have a change with the European Commission and they confirm that they use the STGs but they need to monitor them more accurately, use clear targets and use regions and cities work to improve the work that is done at European level. And for that, I also bring you my second priority to make sure that the position of the EU is as strong as possible in the United Nations. In July, the EU is engaging all stakeholders and wants to talk on STGs by producing its first European voluntary review. And it is the most important that this shows all the work that has been done in Europe. To do this, I have worked with the European Commission to include the efforts of regions and cities in localizing STGs. And this is a win-win for both the European Commission and us. A comprehensive review will help the EU delegation to be credible when it's still encouraged other countries to get back on track on STGs in New York next July. And I also have been working with the Envy Chair, Rafal Trasovsky, to obviously bring this perspective of the European Committee of the Regions to the work that has been done by the European Union. And I will finally like to thank not only my experts, but all the ones that contributed to making this opinion, such as the Basque Country, the Flanders region, the Helsinki region, the six Finnish big cities, Piamonte, Strasbourg, and many more. Thank you very much. Thank you. We've got to hear now the floor goes, now the floor goes to the Envy Commission Chair, Rafal Trasovsky. You have the floor for three minutes. Muito obrigado, Presidente. As was said by Barry Andrews, sustainable development goals are under attack by the reality that we live in. And as always, as with the priorities of the European Union, also sustainable development goals cannot be realized without local and regional government because we are responsible for implementing many of them as we are responsible for implementing EU priorities. And now the two things are happening obviously simultaneously because SDGs are included in EU priorities. That's why we need to be involved. In 2022, the midterm updates of remits of Committee of the Regions Commissions included SDGs at a global level as a new responsibility of Envy. We are happy to cooperate with the Econ Commission and we've talked about it with the rapporteur and the chair that we will of course cooperate and lead our work on EU's SDGs governance and implementation. And what is the most important thing is that of course our voice should be heard also at a global level because as I've said, implementation is done locally and therefore the design of these policy also needs to take into account the input of bodies such as ours. The successful participation of Committee of the Regions Delegations and Climate COP 27 in Egypt and the biodiversity COP 15 in Montreal where we were explicitly mentioned as one of the key partners for the implementation of the plan of action of the global biodiversity framework needs to be complemented of course also with a proactive engagement of the Committee of the Regions to discuss SDGs. The SDGs is a new fashionable topic for us in Envy. Well, if we go back in time pre-COVID times we can see that the Committee of the Regions resolution the Green Deal in partnership with local and regional authorities from December 2019 underlines that of course SDGs should be an instrument to achieve the Paris Agreement fully implementing the UN 2030 agenda. And as I've said since the European Commission's President Political Program integrates SDGs into all Commission proposals therefore our role should be even more pronounced. Terming climate and environmental challenges into opportunities across all policy areas and making the transition just and inclusive for all are of course the objectives of the Green Deal and also are in SDGs implementation. That's why the Envy Commission is working in view of the UN high-level political group on sustainable development in New York in July where the EU will present their voluntary review and that's why we should be there and our voice should be heard. Importantly, the Commission's commitment to implement the SDGs at EU level through a comprehensive whole of government approach what implies also the regional and local government. And finally, the SDGs regional dimension also called localization is of capital importance as the achievement of 65% of the goals lies with us. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, Rafal. Now the floor goes to member Yelena Drehanin for two minutes. Thank you for participation here today, Madame Mohamed and Mr. Andrews and everybody else. We in the EPP group are really happy to having this opportunity of presenting our views. Europe and other democratic countries stand today at the crossroad of choosing the sustainable path for our planet, our values and presenting our views. Europe and other democratic countries stand today at the crossroad of choosing the sustainable path for our planet, our values and overall well-being. Our core values such as democracy, human rights and the rule of law are still a reality in some societies but not for everyone as you mentioned earlier, Mr. Andrews. These values and even the sustainability of our societies are threatened in many different ways such as by wars, increasing poverty, climate change with even more fatal natural disasters, the energy crisis which worsens social inequality within and between countries and society undermined by fake news and hate speeches. We here today to join action and collect our strength to fight these challenges together by agreeing on to work for more effective cooperation and better coordinated actions both between and within countries at all levels. We need in particular a joint response to the crisis situation but also enable the work of building of more resilient, inclusive and participatory societies in the long term. The US Sustainable Development Goals are what we have agreed upon but our way of reaching them are likely a bumpy road ahead and the EPP Group wants to send the message that a stronger multi-level governance will give us a lot more effective and better coordinated actions to fight these challenges and EPP would also like in particular to stress the need for better links between the UN goals and the recovery and resilience plans because the funding is just like 47% of all. Thank you. Thank you. Now the floor goes to member Marku Markula for two minutes. Thank you, Mr. President. Let me add one important dimension to what the Mayor Rav Altraskovski and Mayor Ricardo Río already stated. So we, the political leaders, we need to take implementing SDGs into our hearts and into our brains. And that is linked closely with what Renjanin said about the multi-level governance. So it is well-recognized in the EU but not implemented throughout the whole Europe yet. So let me stress that the importance of multi-level governance needs to be inside each organization, political level experts, citizens and so on. To make implementation SDGs a crucial topic for all policy levels inside regional councils, inside cities where I now operate a lot. So it requires a mission, a clear target state being committed by political leaders, a clear target oriented road map, an action plan with measurable scheduled priorities, data, citizens' participation. And let me add throughout all of this is learning. We all are learning there and in that we need, the cities need to be with the UN and other other bodies in sense making. What does this mean and why that is so relevant for every human being? And on that, we definitely collaborate with UN family, with the Commission and the European Parliament and others. Thank you. Thank you. Dario Nardella, the floor is yours for four minutes. Grazie Presidente. Grazie alla... Thank you, President. Thank you to the reporter. At the EU, Ukraine Summit last week, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, acknowledged that cities play an important role in supporting their Ukrainian twin towns in planning rebuilding over the long term. At the same time, our towns and cities are at the front line of managing the energy crisis, supporting firms and citizens and the transition to clean energy. This is vital if we're to make a reality of the European Green Deal and climate neutrality goals for 2050. Many of our towns and cities have set climate neutrality goals that are actually more ambitious than our national governments. And so, speaking as a member of the Socialist and Democrats Group and the Chair of EuroCities, I give my full endorsement to the important assertions made in the opinion prepared by our colleague Ricardo Riu. First of all, the major challenges, such as the pandemic and the energy crisis, shouldn't lead to a levelling down in delivering the SDGs. On the contrary, the crises we're facing must be used to speed up and strengthen the transition to this development model. Secondly, the 2030 agenda for those sustainable development goals is a useful solid tool in helping offsetting possible imbalances and inconsistencies that we have to acknowledge between the large number of frameworks that have to apply at every level of government. The Paris Agreement, the Union's Green Deal and the new urban agenda. Making a reality of the 2030 agenda will depend, to a great extent, on the results achieved by towns and cities, because as the reportosa pointed out, it's in the cities, in the metropolitan areas, as well as smaller towns, that the challenges surrounding energy, mobility and food supplies, the circular economy and the digital transition, as well as social cohesion, all come together and have to be tackled by means of shared political solutions. Without full, tangible co-involvement of daily life on the ground in the cities, these goals will never be achieved. Working together on the SDGs means that we also need to activate an instrument that will allow towns and cities to have a more holistic development model. Many of the local areas across Europe have adopted SDGs as a cornerstone of their reference framework as they pursue sustainable urban development. With a view to moving ever further along that course of action and bringing together action at every level of governance, we support the setting up of an alliance of regions and cities for the sustainable development goals, which come right on the Committee of the Regions. The Russian aggression against Ukraine and the energy crisis show how important it is. Indeed, I would say how necessary it is to take local action to ensure that the 2030 agenda can be achieved. The worsening of the crisis has led to a general rethinking of urban life, mobility and energy consumption. The social context is a source of concern. The rich have got richer and the poor have got poorer. Thank you, President. Thank you so much. The floor goes to member Maria Elorza-Zubiria for three minutes. Thank you. Renewed would like to welcome and thank Ms. Amina Mohamed and thank her for sharing this space with us. We share the philosophy and the methodology of the agenda 2030. It sets a roadmap to move towards the SDGs, bringing together economic growth, social inclusion and protecting the environment. Sometimes those seem completely incompatible, but what we have is a proposal which really reflects our current situation. Since their approval in 2015, the UN have asked regional governments to put the 2030 agenda at the heart of their work, adapting it to their reality. Often, regional governments do have actions which are very much aligned with sustainable development and the basket government called upon the need to develop a plan which ran till 2030, a multi-level plan. We looked at the possibility of issuing sustainable bonds as well as other measures. And now what we're doing is looking to explore the benefits of multi-level, multi-stakeholder government to ensure the inclusive implementation of the 17 SDGs. We believe that SDGs require us to focus on what can be specifically achieved. And we can give you five examples this year which we are working on, which could be useful. Firstly, introduce the SDG principles into the local government management. We have a panel of 53 indicators which assess policy for this. We also propose the integration of the 2030 agenda as a tool for assessment and identification of work to be done in organizations and businesses. And this year, we are establishing in the Basque Country the initiative supported by the Deputy Secretary General in which the government of our region is participating, is going to develop apprenticeships so that the SDGs can be mainstreamed in all territories and communities. I'd like to take the opportunity I have today to thank Ms. Mohamed for her trust in putting this initiative together. For two and a half minutes, caro secretario generale, caro President... Yes, Secretary General and President, achieving the sustainable development goals of the United Nations is something that can only happen with consultation and coordination of the various levels of government and civil society, with particular attention being devoted to involving local and regional authorities. The Veneto region has not dodged making a contribution to this important collective challenge. In 2018, at the Veneto Regional Council, that's my honour to head, together with the International Federation for Family Development, presented the Venice Charter in New York and the United Nations. In line with UN Sustainable Development Code number 11, which calls to ensure that cities are inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, the Venice Charter puts families and their rights at the heart of planning and management of cities and territories, stressing the need to devote greater attention to the most vulnerable citizens. Drafted by a panel of multidisciplinary experts, promoted at the UN, the Education Committee, it's reviewed every year, with an eye to the rights of families, to support vulnerable groups in line with the goals set out in the UN's Agenda 2030. In a society such as ours in Europe, where the birth rate is falling significantly and ageing is increasing, investing in family policies is the best investment you could make in the future that any level of government could make. The Venice Declaration brings together local authorities' contributions and has added inventory of best practice by the signatories, with an exchange of the results obtained. And this feeds into the commitment of local authorities to make ethical choices in providing services to family groups, the particular attention to the vulnerable, people with disabilities, older people and children. The signatures include cities from Europe and South America, including Brazil and Mexico. I'll now go to Member Marie-Cherry Aléu for two minutes. Thank you, President del Comité. Thank you, President of the Corotidigens. On behalf of the European Alliance Group, we think that this is a very pertinent debate, given that we have eight years remaining to make a reality of the SDGs. There's an environmental, climate crisis, and a social crisis on a unprecedented scale now that we can see across our territories, which is why we need greater efforts to the SDGs in public policy, which will bring about transformation with a systemic vision and true alliances with civil society, multi-level European and global governance. The Catalan government has been committed to the 2030 agenda since it was adopted as a strategic framework, with the whole government signing up to the SDGs, bringing together strategies, plans, programmes and budgets. Adopted since 2015. This year, Catalonia will have its first follow-up report on the SDGs, and in doing that, we rely on official statistics in Catalonia with two sense of indicators, one following the Eurostat methodology and the other UN criteria. In the report, we will include views from civil society and local authorities, as well as 70 public and private bodies in the Catalonia 2030 Alliance. We will bring together everything the government has done since the entry into force of the 2030 agenda, for example, the strategic supply plan for Catalonia, the maritime strategy, the adaptation strategy to climate change, basic guaranteed incomes, and including SDGs in school curricula. There are items pending that we want to work on together across Europe. We welcome the fact that the European Union this year is tabling its report on the follow-up to the SDGs. We believe that this assessment and the lessons we can learn from this are vital if we are to move ahead towards a stronger, more integrated, fairer, more sustainable Europe. In Catalonia, we remain committed to that. Thank you. Mr Member, Una Power for two minutes. Thank you, Mr President. This is an incredibly important debate and opinion, and I thank Mr Rio for his work on it and for supporting our amendments that we've put forward as the Greens. The importance of LRAs in implementing the SDGs is incredibly significant. As expressed in the opinion, the OCD approximates that 65% of the SDG goals cannot be achieved without our involvement. And as Ms Mohamed said, we are the ones with the practical hands-on work in this area, and we are the ones with the relationships with local citizens and stakeholders to pursue implementation of SDGs across society. But we must also, as the core, ensure that we cooperate with other institutions and organisations at national and European levels. Already, great work has been done by organisations such as EuroCities, CEMR, and TechFormer, with their members, and we should seek to cooperate with them and share learnings where possible. We must also remember that the SDGs are overarching. They are interwoven through policy areas and require a holistic approach in their implementation. Within the core, we need to continue our efforts on implementation of the SDGs, building on Mr Rio's opinion passed last year and today's opinion using these to inform our next steps. Given the expansive and interlinked nature of the SDGs, we need to ensure we incorporate them across all of our commissions and not silo them within one or two because SDGs go beyond environment and energy and climate. Indeed, they cover societal fairness, quality of life, gender equality, health and justice, to name but a few. As acknowledged in the opinion and stated by Mr Andrews, there have been regrettable setbacks in achieving progress on the SDGs due to the various crises we've experienced in recent times. We need to find a way to prevent challenges from strolling progress. Indeed, SDGs ought to inform our responses to challenges we come up against underpinning both our immediate and recovery phases. Finally, SDGs, much like climate action, cannot be put on the back burner when we face disruption because when we adopt them, that is what makes our societies more resilient. Thank you, Mr President. I'm the one who thank you. Now the floor goes to our first Vice President, Apostolo Citi Costa, for three minutes. Thank you very much, Mr President, their Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, their colleagues. The SDGs are the foundation stone for addressing the current and the evolving crisis. The emergencies caused by the pandemic, indeed, and the war may have pushed a number of leaders to focus on the immediate consequences of the crisis rather than focus on the more general picture. Unfortunately, the issues that the SDGs intend to tackle did not disappear in the meantime. Resilience and recovery can only be achieved by addressing those issues now and here. And of course, as the urgency and the localization of the actions are key. As a matter of fact, with regards to their wide-ranging responsibilities and their direct contact with citizens, local and regional authorities help in, effectively and quickly implement our common goals. This is precisely why it is essential today to strengthen their governance, which has to be inclusive and multi-level in order to create policy coherence and sustainable achievements on the ground. As living in an interconnected world, we all have a role to play in achieving these ambitious objectives. Local and regional political leaders promote awareness. We create incentives to encourage individuals and businesses to act in a more sustainable way. We develop local strategies to reduce poverty, to improve health, and protect the environment. We work with local businesses to promote green growth and invest in renewable energy infrastructure. We invest in education and training to equip citizens with the skills they need to take part in a green economy. This is why the localization of the SDG is key. The European Committee of the Regions is committed to support, of course, all the local and regional governments in these efforts. And this includes the networks of cities and regions outside the European Union, such as Platforma, especially in Africa. But we also need to develop and help the help of the United Nations, as I believe there is real room for improving our cooperation in this field in order to promote sustainability amongst local authorities. In this context, we are, for instance, willing to monitor the progress of the SDG's implementation at our level of governance. Now, conclusion, dear colleagues, it is also with an enhanced and active role of cities and regions locally that the SDG's can be achieved globally. By taking such a proactive approach, we can make a difference as we are ready to further work with the United Nations in order to localize the SDG's. Thank you. Thank you, Apostolos. Now the floor goes to member Muterem Aras for one minute. Yes, dear colleagues and colleagues. So, colleagues, as we've heard, sustainability is extremely important, but there's a danger that during crisis times, this falls by the wayside. We need to be honest and say that implementation of SDG's is not going as fast as it should. And we shouldn't say that Europe should continue to lead the way. We're saying it should start to lead the way because we have a lot of room for improvement. And the Greens have tabled a range of amendments. There was the OECD study was quoted, says that 8% of regions and cities pursue these aims. And you could say that 88% is very good, but if you tell the truth, there are only 22 regions in Europe. So if you do the math the arithmetic, it's actually not very good at all. You have the floor for one minute. Sehr geehrter Herr Präsident, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen, die Agenda 2020... ...president, colleagues, the Agenda 2030 provides a very, very important and 2030 provides a blueprint for a shared future. Having overcome the pandemic and looking at the war in Ukraine and the climate change, we need to have a bridge between European regions and state and private interests. Inturing what we have done is work towards energy transition, creating a green tech agency, helping local communities in ordering and implementing European projects, networking between the local and European level and the private and public sectors. But what we need really are people on the ground. It is the European people who will benefit from Agenda 2030, but in the day-to-day work, they're just considered as the positive or negative effects of individual measures. There needs to be integrated planning and we need to see a watershed moment, not just in the policy that we're developing, but also in our communication strategy. Annual report on the progress of 2030 is positive, but it's not useful if there's no methodical approach. Here, there needs to be more work. It goes to Member Pérez García for one minute. According to the Ministry of State of France, Agenda 2030, the Spanish government and the mass country and Navarra are the detusions with the best outcomes on SDG. The Spanish legislation 2022 helps to make the most of local efforts, in conjunction with the Ministry of Recognising Navarra as a leading region, which bears witness to my approach taken by the regional government and parliament. It's been working towards 2030 since 2016. In 2019, we started issuing sustainable emissions and bonds. There's the green sustainability strategy for 2030 being dealt with in an interdepartmental way. In the course of all our work, we seek to share with other regions in Europe. That's why we've been chosen for a pilot project in Europe to get under the auspices of the Commission on the Parliament. Inet, you have the floor. Dear Madam Deputy Secretary-General, the SDGs may appear to be quite abstract for many regions, but in fact, they are very concrete and they are part of our day-to-day agenda. We are implementing the SDGs without even noticing as we speak. The Committee of Regents usually calls for better involvement from the side of the key EU decision-makers, but I would like to use this opportunity and appeal also to the United Nations to better involve regions and cities in the initiatives that are related to our activities. I especially welcome the preparation of the first global state of metropolis report by the UN Habitat on the metropolitan agenda, which is so crucial for achieving SDG-11, and I'm glad that Bratislava region is part of this report. It's tempting for everyone to strictly mind their own business, but improvement in inter-institutional exchange of views will multiply the results. Cities and regions will welcome more cooperation with and by the United Nations, also in the sustainable development. Your esteemed presence with us today is a step in the right direction. Thank you. Member Florian Schutz, the floor is yours for one minute. President, representative of the General Secretary, nations in the sustainability dolls were decided on, involved all the regions and municipalities together, and we've thought about how we could implement these objectives and what they mean to us, and prosperity, how we could sum this up. And we've taken the decision that the implementation strategy, general strategy should be adopted, focusing on resources and the standard of living. These are the salient points of the strategy. We have tried to involve all in the implementation of these goals. Thank you. You have the floor for one minute. Thank you. Madam Deputy Secretary General, dear colleagues, I support this debate on this topic on SDGs because they are an important instrument to achieve long-term sustainable development both of our societies and of our local and regional communities. As we've heard in the past few years, we have witnessed slowing down in achieving these goals, and of course the associations of local governments can give contribution to make this debate more topical, but to achieve concrete results, we need a wider institutional coordination and support. In this respect, I support the proposals in the opinion, especially in the part that refers to a stronger involvement of the EU, the strengthening of the capacities of LRAs to also recovery plans, cohesion, and so on. Thank you. Member Josef Cobor, you are the floor for one minute. Dear colleagues, I am a member of the Green Deal Working Groups in the Court, and I have to be very negative. The SDG and Green Deal in Europe is in very big trouble. Why? It was a taxonomy which was pushed through the European Commission, and this taxonomy prefers, until now, gas and nuclear energy are sustainable and environmental friendly. Last until renewables enter the distant future, because at that time it was about cheap Russian gas and nuclear industry of French and Russia, and both failed. We don't know why. And now we are in trouble, because it is the same construction, but much more expensive. And consumers can barely pay the bills, and it's not money for energy efficiency. So we have to change promptly. Thank you. Thank you, Member Sari Rausio. You have the floor for one minute. Thank you, Mr. President, and all. I will speak in Finnish, since it's possible now. Thank you very much, Prime Minister Amina Mohamed. Very important. Thank you to the Deputy Secretary General Mohamed for words. There's a big change ahead of us. It's a time of worry, so we need to keep the goal in view. As our colleague Andrews has said, the SDG is really the one global objective that we can all work towards. It's a common denominator, the same for all, and we need to work towards it, roll our sleeves up. It's not just enough to draw up plans. We need to act as well. To my colleague Rio, I'd like to say thank you very much for your work here. We need to work together on this material. The floor for one minute. Thank you very much, dear President. My city in Hungary, West Prim, is also part of the Global Goals for Cities project, which is a wide-ranging international cooperation aimed at speeding up the implementation of the SDGs and translating them into urban developments. The sustainability goals formulated by the UN, such as poverty, eradication, quality education, or protection of terrestrial ecosystems, must be localized and enable local strategies to be defined and implemented and monitored. At the end of the project, the city elaborates a unique integrated action plan focusing on the main issues of the given city. It would be important to the cities to have the opportunity to continue these projects and receive financial support for the elaboration of the goals, too. Thank you very much. Thank you, Member Christoph, Ivan Yuk. You have the floor for one minute. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen, colleagues. I think all of us here think different things when we talk about sustainable development. This situation is very different in Prague from in another big city than what it is in small villages. So what do we do now for everything to be comparable? We're talking here about an improved life for our citizens. So we need to look about the tragedies we've been faced with recently. War, energy crisis, the pandemic, and all of this has meant that small villages are long way away from the big cities in a struggle for survival. Rural areas are really struggling at the moment. And if we want to look after the well-being of the citizens, we really need to take all of this into account. And we need to build infrastructure to that end. You have the floor for one minute. Thank you, Mr. President. I'll speak in Croatian. Since we from the RRAs are the level that is close to people, we should receive support in educating the public in SDGs that we're discussing here today. But to be able to think about sustainable development, it has to be planned, which means adopting strategic plans and documents with clearly defined goals to sustainable development. In Croatia, local and regional authorities have these documents that contain these goals and measures. But we wonder how aware they are of the importance of this concept. The idea of sustainable development is very popular today in the rhetoric in politics. But when we have to transfer that into action, we often fail. The documents very often cannot enable us to monitor the development and the progress. This is why we have to ensure such mechanisms and also ensure material resources in that respect because RRAs have fewer funds than the national level to monitor the progress. Thank you, President, for giving me the floor to say something. Mr. Ria, thank you very much for your opinion. I think this is something I've already said to you in Econ. We do need to constantly check that we're not straying from the path. And I think that's why your initiative was good. It's already been said that we'll be supporting it. One drop of courage required is the pillar of the social rights to be integrated in all aspects of policy. And once again, there's not enough attention being paid to social issues here. In light of the pandemic, we need to bear that in mind. I don't think we can, as I say, stray from the path. We need to keep our eye on the goal and also think about the social dimension. Thank you. Thank you. Member Coughlin, you have the floor for one minute. Thank you, dear President and to Madam Deputy Secretary-General, to MEP by Andrews and to our rapporteur. Thank you indeed for your presentations and to all of those who have taken part in the debate. Robert Truman, the father of the EU, said the world peace cannot be safeguarded without the making of creative efforts proportionate to the dangers which threaten it. And world peace is being threatened daily by huge threats. And so we do need to grasp this nettle. The sustainable development goals are a blueprint for cohesion, which is really our aim at the end of the day. I would ask, and I would echo Barry Andrews' call there to formulate a strategy, because without a strategy, there really is no progress. But I would also emphasise the importance of empowering communities within that strategy. Really, we must get down to the nitty-gritty here. Many of our communities are taking the initiative themselves with these, with the problems. And I would ask that the European Union would really embrace our subsidiarity and empower communities to deal with the ideas that are in these sustainable development goals and the challenges that they raise. Thank you. Thank you, Mr President. Thank you. And now this concludes the interventions from the floor. I will now give the floor to Mr Andrews. If you have any final remarks to share with us, you have three minutes. Well, I won't keep you, I want to make two points. First of all, that partnership is STG-17. So that's why I set up the STG Alliance in the European Parliament. And this is an informal group drawn from all political families in the European Parliament. And we have 28 members drawn from across the European Union. And we are dedicated to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and we set ourselves a series of objectives, most of which we have already achieved. From what I've heard from this debate is the point that it was made a number of times, which is the fact that 65% of the objectives in the Sustainable Development Goals require the intervention of local and regional authorities. The point was made by Councillor Power, who was made by many interventions during the course of today. So my second point is to acknowledge the critical role, and this was acknowledged at the very beginning, by the way. In 2015, it was acknowledged that the vast majority of implementation would depend on the cooperation of local and regional authorities. And this is more important even than in the European Union, in the United States, where the federal government has taken almost no role in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and therefore it relies on governors, it relies on mayors, it relies on regional authorities, and this is true in many regions of the world. So for that reason, I really want to thank you for the invitation to be here today, and I want to congratulate Rapporteur Rio and all of the shadows for the work that they put into this. This is a collective effort. We are off track, but listening to the political will today, it gives me hope, and I'm sure everybody else. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. Andrews. Thank you so much for taking the time to be with us. Now, Richard Fais, do you want to intervene? Yes, just a brief intervention first of all to thank all the colleagues for their testimonies. I think that they showed the importance of the SDGs all over Europe and the work that has been done in so many regions and cities in Europe. And obviously what I will try to do together with the Envy Chair and other members is to bring this reality to the High-Level Political Forum in July to show the reality in the European Union. Also, I would like to call for the cities and regions that are not doing yet their voluntary reviews to do so because, as it was mentioned several times here today, the single holistic tool that we have to look on an integrated basis to our development model. And for that, it's important to share experiences and to share best practices. And I think that all these networks that we have been working with from the OECD to the CMR to the platform to other cities can be an important tool to support that work. At the European level, this opinion also brings some specific recommendations that are very important in terms of political terms. To have an SDG strategy, to monitor SDGs more accurately, using clear targets and not just looking at the average evolution. To bring leadership at the highest level and to mainstream SDGs in the European Commission in Terminal Governance and Budget, integrate SDGs more thoroughly in a simplified European semester and European Union recovery, bringing the SDGs to the National Recovery and Resilience Plans. Some services that show the lack of connection between the NRPPs and the SDGs. And obviously reinstating the EU multistakeholders platform that are some of the recommendations that this opinion brings and that we think are very important. Two final remarks. MEP Andrews already mentioned that, the importance of having financial tools that support the work that is being done in the territories and also the institutional collaboration by the several organs of the European Union as the Working Party of the Council, as the Social Economy Council, as the Committee of the Regents and the European Parliament together with the Commission. And that is why, together with the Rapporteur Andrews, we hope to bring these topics to the European Commission for them to happen in the near future. Thank you for our support. Thank you so much. Now we're going to proceed with the vote of the opinion on progressing the implementation of SDGs. I think everybody is already to vote. Now let me dare to say something. Is there any possibility to have a block vote on the amendments? We have 12 amendments. Yes? Good. So we're going to have a block vote on amendments 1 to 9 who votes against the amendments. Abstentions? The amendments are approved. Now final vote. Who votes against the opinion? Abstention? The opinion is approved. Congratulations to the Rapporteur and to everyone involved. Congratulations. Thank you.