Collaboration between sub-national entities is key to strengthening EU-US partnership

At the invitation of the National Conference of State Legislators of the United States of America, the President of the Committee of the Regions, Vasco Alves Cordeiro, attended the organization’s annual meeting, which took place from August 5 to 7 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Vasco Cordeiro’s invitation and presence at this meeting is part of the project promoted by the President of the Committee of the Regions to strengthen the collaboration of this European institution with counterparts in other parts of the world. The aim is to foster and deepen knowledge of the challenges that sub-national authorities face in fulfilling their role and to strengthen the responses they give to common challenges.

“The run-up to the US presidential elections is a key moment to reaffirm the relevance of the transatlantic relationship and, in particular, the contribution that subnational entities – municipalities, regional governments or states – on both sides of the Atlantic can make to an even greater and more successful relationship between the US and the EU,” said Vasco Alves Cordeiro, regarding his participation.

“Many American states today face issues that are also identical to those we find in the EU, at the local and regional level: the housing crisis, the costs of inflation, how to improve education and training systems to integrate all territories and communities, the impacts of climate change, how to regulate the use of Artificial Intelligence or even the strengthening of democracy, starting at the local level. These are challenges that deserve a transatlantic approach and which we in the Committee of the Regions are also addressing and can help to build relevant responses to,” said the President of the Committee of the Regions.

In August 2023, the Committee of the Regions and the NCSL signed a cooperation protocol to strengthen cooperation between the sub-national authorities of the European Union and the United States of America in the context of the Transatlantic Agenda and in areas such as the promotion of democratic principles, sustainable development, and exchanges between their members and the communities they represent.

The agenda of the President of the Committee of the Regions’ participation included, among others, meetings with outgoing President Brian Patrick Kennedy and NCSL President-designate Wayne A. Harper, with EU Ambassador to the US Jovita Neliupšiene, with members of the Parliament of Quebec, Canada, with representatives of the National Union of State Legislators (UNALE), Brazil, and with the German delegation taking part in the Conference.

The NCSL Summit annually brings together Senators, Congressmen, State Representatives, and Congressional staff from the fifty US States, and is the largest annual legislators’ summit in North America. This year’s edition had around 5,300 registrants and the participation of twenty-seven other organizations, regions, states, and countries from around the world.

From Press Release

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