As the two largest economies in the world, each with a resilient agricultural sector, the European Union and the United States form a strong agricultural partnership that benefits producers and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.

From January 10-13, the European Union took part in the American Farm Bureau Federation virtual convention, where EU agricultural officials engaged directly with American farmers and ranchers. From a robust transatlantic agricultural trade ties totaling $34 billion in 2019, to a commitment to environmental stewardship, there was no shortage of topics to discuss. This was the 16th year the EU has participated in the annual AFBF convention.

Each and every day, shipping containers filled with European and American products crisscross the Atlantic Ocean, carrying goods that consumers have grown to know and love. Whether it’s olive oil from Greece or pistachios from California, transatlantic agricultural trade benefits Europeans and Americans. That means good food on the table and a reliable income for producers.

In fact, over 2 million jobs are created in the United States because of EU-U.S. trade, including jobs in agriculture.

Equally important, the EU is committed to protecting the environment and natural resources to ensure the future of food production. That’s why, through its Farm to Fork Strategy, the EU strives to make agriculture more sustainable, from production to consumption, and is adopting win-win strategies that are good for the environment and farmers’ wallets.

In their fields and on their ranches, farmers see the effects of climate change first hand. More extreme weather threatens not only farming communities, but also farmers’ bottom lines. Innovative technologies and better data like precision farming allows farmers to farm more efficiently and use only the fertilizer and seed they need. Current use of hazardous pesticides and fertilizers in agriculture contributes to polluted soil and water, and limits biodiversity.

As part of its Farm to Fork Strategy, the EU is investing in organic farming, which yields produce that consumers are willing to pay a premium for. Consumers will also see benefits with the EU’s new food labeling scheme. This consumer-driven effort sees food products labeled with information on their nutritional, climate, environmental, and social aspects, empowering consumers to make informed choices. Through a holistic approach, the EU is making sustainability the cornerstone of its food systems to bring benefits for farmers, society, and the planet.

The European Union has a rich farming heritage based on regional specialties, time-honored traditions, and pride in helping produce the great foods Europe is known for around the world.

EU agri-food products, such as Bordeaux wine and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, have geographical indication labels that give a guarantee of authenticity, quality, and distinctiveness linked to origin. Geographical Indication (GI) recognition enables consumers to trust and distinguish quality products while also helping producers market their products better. A product does not have to be European to have GI status.

Through both its embrace of sustainable farming and commitment to transatlantic ag trade, the EU is proud to be America’s sustainable partner in agriculture. The conversations at this year’s virtual AFBF convention have underscored that the America agriculture community is likewise committed to sustainability and is eager to collaborate to improve our ag processes. As EU Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski declared, “In 2021, let’s say goodbye to tariff wars and increase our bilateral cooperation.” From agricultural trade to sustainable farming, the EU and U.S. are stronger together!

EU Agriculture Resources

Farm to Fork Strategy Infographic

Sustainable Food Systems

EU-US Trade

Bringing Farmers to the Table: Agriculture, Climate, Economy and Equity

Overview of EU Agricultural Trade with the US

Sustainable Agriculture: A Key Link in Climate Action Policy

The European Union: America’s Sustainable Partner in Agriculture was originally published in Delegation of the European Union to the United States on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“The European Union and the United States are the two biggest, most open economies in the world,” said Stavros Lambrinidis, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States, adding that our trade ties are centered on important shared values, including a commitment to “fair competition, a respect for labor standards, and respect for the environment.”

Although the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted supply chains and severely impacted the global economy, it has not weakened the resolve to maintain the decades-long balanced transatlantic economic ties between the EU and the United States. The EU is a major trading partner and the single biggest investor in the United States.

These mutually beneficial trade and investment ties were the focus of “Stronger Together: EU and the Mountain West,” a virtual trade roundtable and networking event held November 18 celebrating the EU’s economic relationship with Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.

Ambassador Lambrinidis and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis opened the event with a fireside chat discussing the state of transatlantic trade in the Mountain West region.

“Coloradoans generally are for free trade with Europe, free exchange of ideas, goods, culture, and service without tariffs,” said Governor Polis, noting the detrimental effect that tariffs have had on Colorado’s farmers, ranchers, and consumers.

Pointing to Colorado’s environmental record and leadership on renewable energy development, Governor Polis said Colorado will work with their European partners in 2021 to re-establish international supply chains that may have suffered due to the pandemic.

The trade roundtable featured a dynamic and wide-ranging conversation with representatives from each of the four Mountain West states, moderated by the EU Delegation’s Head of Trade, Tomas Baert.

“Trade does not just mean trade of goods. It means trade of knowledge, trade of ideas, trade of technology,” said Denver World Trade Center President Karen Gerwitz, adding that tariffs impact this free-flowing exchange by adding uncertainty, complicating supply chains and making it more difficult for companies to plan for the future. Gerwitz said that tariffs impact consumers, as the costs are passed on to them through increased prices. Rural areas are especially harmed by tariffs, she said, as those communities tend to be more focused on agriculture and manufacturing.

David Carlebach, Vice President for International Investment at World Trade Center Utah, provided an overview of the importance of foreign investment to the U.S. market. “Roughly 4.5–8% of employment in the U.S. is tied to companies owned internationally, and most of that is from Europe,” he said. In Utah, Carlebach said there are roughly 50,000 jobs tied to foreign investment, which is lower than the national average and illustrates that the state has room to grow.

Arizona, like on the national level, has a fairly balanced export-import relationship with the European Union. However, as explained by Kevin O’Shea, Senior Vice President for International Trade at the Arizona Commerce Authority, these export figures may soon change. Arizona small businesses are realizing that one of their key strategies for COVID recovery could be expanding their market by exporting internationally, including to the EU.

Also critical of tariffs was Alicia Keyes, Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Economic Development Department, who said that they hurt New Mexico’s rural farmers, including those in the pecan industry, one of the state’s largest exports. She said that reopening trade lines of communication is vital to pandemic recovery: “Having those conversations and making one-on-one connections, that makes all the difference in the world.”

With current public health conditions precluding traditional networking gatherings, the European Union Delegation organized a virtual one-on-one networking event following the Mountain West roundtable. This created the opportunity for members of the Mountain West business community to connect directly with trade representatives from the European Union and EU Member States to discuss imports, exports, investment, and other ways to strengthen the EU-Mountain West economic relationship.

Learn more about EU trade and investment in your state at EUintheUSTrade.org. Watch the full event conversation below.

Want to learn more how to export to the EU? Watch this video:

Stronger Together: Colorado Governor, Mountain West officials celebrate trade with EU was originally published in Delegation of the European Union to the United States on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“I am fighting for the abolition of the death penalty, because if others did not fight for me, I would not be here today” declared Shareef Cousin, a death row exoneree and special guest at the European Union’s virtual commemoration of the 2020 World and European Day Against the Death Penalty. At the age of 17, Shareef was sentenced to death in Louisiana for a crime he did not commit. Today he is number 77 — the 77th of nearly 200 individuals who have been exonerated from death row in the United States.

“Death row made me angry,” said Mr. Cousin, “I do not want my experience to go in vain. I am fighting for the abolition of the death penalty because it is the right thing to do.”

This year, over 300 guests joined the Delegation of the European Union to the United States for a virtual screening of the film Just Mercy and an online discussion on the state of capital punishment in America.

Discrimination in Capital Punishment

In light of the ongoing national conversation in the United States regarding race, discrimination, and policing, panelists explained how these factors are visible in capital punishment, as well.

“The death penalty does not have a race problem. The modern death penalty is a manifestation of America’s systemic problem with criminal justice and race” said Robert Dunham, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), which recently published a report that explores this issue in depth titled Enduring Injustice: the Persistence of Racial Discrimination in the U.S. Death Penalty.

Ruth Friedman, Director of the Federal Capital Habeas Project, said that “racial bias is endemic” in the federal system, with 45% of federal death row being African American men. But, she added, federal death row also has a geographic problem. Federal death row covers all 50 U.S. states, as well as U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. Yet three states alone, Texas, Missouri and Virginia, account for almost half of all cases on federal death row.

“There are too many areas within the system where flaws do occur on a daily basis” said Paul Bottei, Assistant Federal Public Defender in Columbus, Ohio, who described capital cases as being incredibly complex. This complexity, coupled with an uneven quality of defense counsel, which Bottei says “range dramatically from state to state, from city to city,” impacts how the death penalty is sought, prosecuted, and sentenced in the criminal justice system in the United States.

The Death Penalty in the United States

At the forefront of the discussion was the recent resumption of the death penalty by the United States federal government following a period of nearly two decades without a federal execution. Robert Dunham of DPIC said that the “federal government has executed more individuals in the past three months than in the past 60 years combined.” Ruth Friedman said of the seven federal executions this year, “the federal government has executed as many people as the rest of the country put together, and another man is slated to be executed next month.”

The resumption of U.S. federal executions has been noticed around the world. European Union Ambassador to the U.S. Stavros Lambrinidis said in his opening remarks, “As the EU, we were greatly concerned and disturbed when the U.S. re-instituted federal executions. We were open in criticizing that. We look forward to the day when the increasing number of U.S. states [abolishing the death penalty] are joined by more and more. Our work here is to achieve this.”

This sentiment was supported by Germany’s Ambassador to the U.S. Emily Haber, who said, “It was the United States that helped us overcome our dark past, to establish democracy and the rule of law. It saddens me to see a partial revival of the death penalty in the U.S. under federal law. I hope that one day the U.S. as a whole will join the historic process to abandon the death penalty.”

Is Change Coming?

DPIC’s Robert Dunham described the U.S. government’s resumption of executions as “out of step with the rest of the country,” adding “the death penalty has disappeared from whole regions in the U.S.”

Shareef Cousin said of his native Louisiana, “Even in the South, the trend is changing. Louisiana only had three executions in the past 20 years, but we’ve had almost ten exonerations in the past 15 years.”

The U.S. government’s recent actions should not be seen as a setback in the movement to abolish the death penalty worldwide. In the United States, executions are decreasing, and a growing number of states have abolished the death penalty. Of 193 UN Member States, 162 countries have not had executions for at least 10 years, and 112 have abolished the death penalty in law.

“My hope is that we will be able to celebrate very soon together with the American people the abolition of the death penalty in the U.S. at all levels” said Ambassador Lambrinidis. “The question today is not, ‘Why are you not using the death penalty?’ it’s ‘Why are you still using the death penalty?’”

The European Union champions the abolition of the death penalty around the world. In the United States, the EU works to raise public awareness, support national networks, monitor the use of the death penalty, and advocate for legal reform and for the stay of executions.

Explore the EU’s new infographic on Why and How the EU Opposes the Death Penalty.

“Let’s Work Together to Abolish the Death Penalty” was originally published in Delegation of the European Union to the United States on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

In the United States and Europe, there is a growing consensus that farmers play an integral role in climate change solutions. With one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions coming from agriculture, climate goals cannot be achieved without shifting food systems to a sustainable path. That is why the EU’s landmark Green Deal includes the Farm to Fork Strategy, a comprehensive approach to achieving sustainable food systems that will reduce the environmental and climate footprint of the EU food system.

Ahead of Climate Week NYC, the European Union, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, convened a panel of experts and policy makers on September 15 to discuss sustainable agriculture on both sides of the Atlantic. Entitled “Bringing Farmers to the Table: Agriculture, Climate, Economy and Equity,” the online event involved more than a hundred U.S. stakeholders and opened with remarks from European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides.

“We want Europe to become the world’s first climate neutral continent by 2050 built on a fair and equal society, and green economic growth,” Commissioner Kyriakides said in her opening remarks. “We want to bring our trading partners with us in this transition.”

Recognizing the clear dangers posed by climate change and the key role the agricultural community can play in climate solutions set the stage for a robust discussion focused on three themes: the benefit of precision farming, the potential of regenerative farming practices, and the need for equitable risk sharing.

“Farmers are front-line workers,” said Greg Viers, a life-long grain farmer from Central Iowa. “Farmers see the effects of climate change sooner and to a larger effect than other people in general,” making them a natural constituency for climate action and sustainable practices. Viers also serves as a durum wheat procurement manager for Barilla America, the world’s largest pasta manufacturer.

Viers stressed that precision farming, guided by innovative technologies and better data, allows farmers to farm better and use only the amounts of fertilizer and seed they need. This practical approach to conservation is what Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) described as a “win-win climate solution” that’s good for the earth and financially for the farmer.

Modifying certain farming practices can not only save resources, it can benefit the soil and the earth’s climate as a whole. Dr. Yichao Rui, a soil scientist at the Rodale Institute, outlined the important role that regenerative agriculture can play in mitigating climate change. By implementing regenerative farming practices, such as having diverse crop rotations, eliminating synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, using organic soil matter for soil fertility, and using cover crops in the winter, organic soil sequestration can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “To promote carbon sequestration, we should promote microbial biomass production and protection. We can achieve that through regenerative practices” he said.

Today, 1–5% of agricultural land around the world is being worked in a regenerative manner. Recognizing the benefits of regenerative farming, the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy lays out concrete targets to be met by 2030, including reducing the use of pesticides by 50%, reducing nutrient losses by at least 50%, and reducing the use of fertilizers by 20%. The EU also aims to reduce sales of antimicrobials in farming and agriculture by 50% and increase the amount of agricultural land under organic farming in the EU to 25%.

Making food systems more sustainable cannot be left to farmers and farm-level solutions. Dr. Christine Negra, Senior Advisor for Climate and Agriculture at the United Nations Foundation, said governments need to work with private sector partners to ensure that innovation is reaching all farmers, and that they have equitable access to these cutting-edge tools. She also argued that the risks for adopting new technologies cannot rest only with the farmer, but that collaboration is required between “public sector, private sector, and farmers to mitigate risk wherever you can, and where they cannot be mitigated, to share the risk as best you can.”

Rep. Curtis agreed, saying “one of the largest impediments to [farmers] being good stewards of the land are financial.” That is why he supports the bipartisan Growing Climate Solutions Act. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) also supports the bipartisan legislation, which, she said, “would lay the groundwork and reduce the barriers to entry for farmers who want to diversify their agricultural income and earn money for implementing climate friendly practices.”

Looking at the world around us, it is becoming clear that the threat of climate change is ever-present. As the EU’s Deputy Head of Delegation Michael Curtis said, “The planet is changing in front of our eyes. For some, climate change is not a distant threat, but a shocking reality today.” That is why the EU is approaching the issue of climate change holistically from all fields, including agriculture. Forty percent of the EU agriculture budget will contribute to climate action, totaling $24 billion a year.

With this strong commitment, and in collaboration with international partners, the EU is ready, Commissioner Kyriakides said, “to lead this transformation, for people, the planet, and our long-term prosperity.”

Watch the full webinar here

Sustainable Agriculture: A Key Link in Climate Action Policy was originally published in Delegation of the European Union to the United States on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

While the European Union was initially one of the regions hardest hit by the coronavirus, the EU’s swift and decisive coordinated actions have helped many of its Member States mitigate the impact of the pandemic and shore up their economies, the EU’s head of international economic relations told a US business audience this month.

Speaking at a webinar hosted by the EU Delegation to the United States in partnership with the European American Chamber of Commerce, Elena Flores, Director for international economic and financial relations and global governance at the European Commission, explained how the EU’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak followed a strategy centered around relief, resilience and recovery.

Given some divergence among Member State responses, Flores said, “It’s clear that we need to cooperate in this endeavor that we are all facing.”

Watch the full webinar below.

Register for the EU’s next economic webinar, Europe and the Great Lockdown: Economic Outlook & Policy Priorities to Reopen the EU Economy: here.)

The initial response — relief — focused on immediate needs to address the crisis. To ensure Member States had the proper resources to combat the virus, the EU organized a joint procurement of medical supplies to avoid Member States competing against each other to acquire needed equipment, facilitated the production of personal protective equipment, and created strategic reserves of emergency medical equipment. At the same time, the Commission ensured that mobility restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the virus would not hamper the correct functioning of the single market.

The second phase — resilience — attempts to bridge the economy during the lockdown. To this end, several measures have been put in place. The activation of the escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact suspended fiscal rules, allowing Member States to take necessary financial action to support their healthcare industries and counter the economic impact of stay-at-home orders. Temporary rules for State Aid ensured that the public support for enterprises would be compatible with ensuring a level playing field. Finally, the Eurogroup (comprised of finance ministers from countries that use the Euro currency) made available a €540 billion support package to help workers, businesses, and Member States through the lockdown.

Flores said that the fact the EU had pre-established structures and institutional frameworks was key to their rapid response to COVID-19, making it simply “a matter of increasing the capacity of the existing instruments and tweaking them to better meet needs,” she said.

The EU’s social protection system, for example, which covers healthcare and unemployment support, did not need to be defined from scratch — it simply needed to be activated, she said. Similarly, distribution channels for loan guarantees and support for small and mid-size businesses were also already in place through the European Investment Bank and other national banks, which meant they could be activated quickly.

Although the shock is affecting all of Europe, Member States have asymmetric capacity to respond, which ultimately creates the risk that the recovery will be asymmetric, Flores said. The European Commission is therefore now planning the recovery phase. The recovery package is not yet final, but it will have a public investment component and a component aimed at improving the framework for triggering private investments.

When asked how long governments could shoulder high-cost economic recovery plans, Flores made no predictions for the duration of the pandemic and its economic toll. For now, she said, monetary policies have been enhanced around the world and are likely to stay for quite some time. It will take a combination of restarting the private sector economy and intelligent removal of public support measures to cross the bridge to a full recovery.

To learn more about the EU’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, click here.

Register for the EU’s next economic webinar, Europe and the Great Lockdown: Economic Outlook & Policy Priorities to Reopen the EU Economy.

The Three R’s of the EU Economic Response to COVID: Relief, Resilience & Recovery was originally published in Delegation of the European Union to the United States on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Learning With Lyon, France, and Boston, USA

In the City of Boston, we’re working hard to achieve safer, more reliable, and more accessible mobility options for all residents. During Mayor Walsh’s first term, we began our comprehensive transportation planning process, called Go Boston 2030. With thousands of residents’ voices included, the plan gave us a roadmap — including 58 specific projects — that would help us become a healthier, more vibrant city.

We like to be bold and inspirational here in Boston. We need to be. We face challenges in mobility as our population continues to grow; we experience (and will continue to experience) impacts from rising sea levels and climate change; and we are actively working to confront racism in our city. We know that rising to meet these challenges means not being complacent. We need to keep ourselves on our toes and see how we stack up against other thriving cities. Further, learning from our peers helps us stay inspired ourselves.

Through the International Urban Cooperation (IUC) program of the European Union, we have been able to get a healthy dose of inspiration from our colleagues in the Lyon Metropole. We are paired on two topics: the future of mobility and “smart cities.” In particular, we both have goals to reduce single occupancy vehicle trips. Here in Boston, we’re aiming to reduce driving alone rates by half, while increasing walking rates by half.

Last fall, four City of Boston staff had the opportunity to attend an IUC Learning Exchange to Lyon. Representatives from the Transportation Department and the civic innovation R&D team spent three days in active “learning and doing” mode with engaged and enthusiastic public servants from the Lyon Metropole. During our three days, we started to uncover the breadth and depth of Lyon’s thoughtful approach to improving mobility for their residents.

A few key takeaways have stuck with us, though we know there’s plenty more we can learn that will benefit Boston’s residents.

1) “Walking the walk” on pedestrian priority

We were delighted to experience Lyon’s prioritization of pedestrians. The day before we arrived, the region was running its second prototype of a car-free downtown. We have almost a decade of experience with car-free events in Boston (such as Circle the City and Open Newbury), but we haven’t yet made them frequent and sustainable.

Off the streets, Lyon is also prioritizing pedestrians from behind the scenes. Like Lyon, we have a “Traffic Management Center” (TMC) with live camera feeds and smart technology that enables real-time decision making.

We were inspired to see that within their TMC, Lyon has an entire physical area, staff, and specific technologies dedicated to responding to the pedestrian experience as it unfolds on the streets.

2) Inclusive design for equitable mobility

Perhaps familiar to anyone who has spent time waiting at an intersection in an urban streetscape is the “taka-taka-taka” sound of the streetlight indicating that it is time to walk. We had a chance to hear innovative audible pedestrian signal (APS) solutions in Lyon. We talked with the CEO of Okeenea, an accessibility solutions company based in France, who shared their next-generation, multi-language APS solution, which won a New York City Department of Transportation call for innovation. We look forward to exploring how we can continue improving the accessibility and inclusivity of our streets and sidewalks for residents who are blind or low vision, and for residents who speak languages other than English.

Additionally, we learned about Lyon’s approach to rolling out electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure (CI). We were excited to hear that they were laser-focused on their vision of an equitable rollout of this infrastructure. They are open to collaborating with private companies to provide EV CI to residents, but these companies can’t just place the infrastructure in parts of the metropole that produce profits; private providers have to equitably serve neighborhoods farther from the downtown core and areas that currently have lower EV utilization, too. This vision and ethos for electrical vehicles aligns very closely with ours: we want to ensure mobility options are equitable, accessible, and safe.

3) Enhancing mobility’s role beyond commuting

Finally, Lyon showed us how they see their mobility services supporting residents beyond work trips. On our first day in Lyon, we took a multi-modal (boat to EV car-share to bike to bus to tram to subway to autonomous vehicle shuttle, oh my!) afternoon trip throughout multiple districts. We were impressed by the ease and predictability of switching between modes, even during “off-peak” hours. It’s clear that the Lyon Metropole isn’t just prioritizing the 9–5 commuter.

Further, their extensive EV car-sharing program — in particular, its membership discount for young people as an attempt to break the expectation of private car ownership before it even forms — provided inspiration for our upcoming deployment of electric vehicle charging stations in municipal parking lots, and how we might integrate these insights into our own car-sharing program.

Finally, in a partnership with their urban lab, Erasme, and their living lab, Tuba, the metropole prototyped incorporating games into waiting at bus stops. The game crowdsourced social media images from residents, and then challenged waiting bus riders to find image matches faster at their bus stop than their partner on the other side of the street. We had a chance to play the game ourselves, and really enjoyed seeing another city’s attempt to acknowledge that playfulness in our streets is just as important a use as rush-hour commuting.

We hosted a lunch-and-learn session after we returned from Lyon. We shared insights with about 30 of our colleagues from the Environment Department, the Planning and Development Agency, other members of the Transportation Department, and Economic Development. Though it wasn’t a traditional Lyonnaise three-course lunch, the “bring your own lunch” learning session offered us a chance to inspire even more city staff to get involved — and stay energized — for the work ahead. Besides, who couldn’t love ladybugs as a traffic calming measure?

The department of New Urban Mechanics in Boston works across departments and communities to explore, experiment, and evaluate new approaches to government and civic life.

This story is part of the #USEUCities series, featuring stories written by EU and US participants in the EU’s International Urban Cooperation (IUC) City Pairings program that helps achieve local and international political objectives on sustainable urban development and climate change.

Read the press release and visit the IUC website to learn more.

“Walking the walk” on sustainable urban mobility: Learning with Lyon, France and Boston, USA was originally published in Delegation of the European Union to the United States on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Covid-19 crisis is a human rights issue, one of the most global and urgent we have ever seen. This is a struggle by all of humanity, for the right to life, and for the right to health of every person.

“The inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family” are among the opening words of the Universal Declaration of human rights, adopted just over 70 years ago. These are now the principles that drive the efforts of governments, international bodies, communities, families and individuals all around the world. Most of all, they motivate the work of health-care and frontline staff, who are putting themselves at risk, every day, to save the rest of us.

Never before has the entire population of the world shared such a need to work together in the common interest of all. Our dependence on each other as a human family has never been so clear. Rarely, if ever, has international cooperation and solidarity been so important. International co-operation is no longer what governments and official bodies should do; it is now belongs to the people. We are all now joined in a common enterprise, beyond borders and across continents, because this deadly virus respects no boundaries or distinctions. Our best chance for survival and recovery is to fight the coronavirus together.

Protecting and preserving life is the primary purpose of this struggle. Without the right to life, it is impossible to exercise other rights. To protect life, we must vindicate the right to health. The right to health, in turn depends not only on access to health care, but on rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, on adequate nutrition and on a safe and heathy environment. It also requires access to information, so that people are empowered to protect their own health and those of others. And in this health crisis, which requires a collective response, and the co-operation of people everywhere, respect for civil society is more important than ever. All human rights are interdependent and indivisible and must inform our response to the crisis. Human rights are at the core of the battle against COVID-19.

That is why the European Union is working closely with the United Nations, with other international organizations and with countries throughout the world, in the great global effort to overcome the virus and its consequences. On 8 April, the EU announced a robust and targeted global response of more than €20 billion from existing external action resources to support partner countries’ efforts in tacking the pandemic. This ‘Team Europe’ package combines resources from the EU, its Member States and financial institutions, in particular the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The current pandemic is a grave and immense threat to the health and life of humanity. The health of the whole world is only as strong as the weakest health system.

We recognize that there are many people for whom this crisis, and sometimes the measures taken to address it, will add even greater risks to their already fragile existence: refugees; the displaced; the homeless; minorities who are already victims of discrimination; children who are being abused or maltreated; women subjected to sexual or domestic violence; marginalized indigenous peoples; persons with disabilities, older people and the poor who are at greatest risk from the economic consequences. No one should be left behind, and no human right ignored.

The EU has expressed to support for, and taken action on the UN High Commissioner Bachelet’s call for special measures regarding prisoners and others in places of detention and closed facilities. We strongly support the UN Secretary General’s call for a ceasefire by all armed actors in the world today and for a co-ordinated humanitarian response. We will continue to play our part in the global effort.

We recognize that many governments have already taken steps, and introduced emergency measures, in response to the crisis. We believe that these measures should apply for this crisis only, be time-bound and be proportionate to what is absolutely necessary. This crisis should not become an excuse for the power-hungry to increase repressive measures, to weaken democratic checks and balances or to dilute the rule of law. Neither should fears over COVID-19 be exploited to spread disinformation or racist and xenophobic reactions.

This is a time for solidarity and for human rights to be at the centre of our endeavors. Since this crisis began we have seen millions of small acts of kindness, and stirring solidarity across the world. The indomitable spirit of humanity is displaying its great generosity. Our global human family will come through these frightful days. The changed world to which we will emerge, will be all the better for the care and compassion we show each other now. Let us not squander that future, give in to fear or our lowest inclinations. Let us not forget that human rights define our very humanity.

Fighting COVID-19 is a Battle for Human Rights was originally published in Delegation of the European Union to the United States on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

In September 2019, I was fortunate enough to be part of a small delegation from the City of San Diego, traveling to Strasbourg, France. Through the International Union Cooperation (IUC) program, San Diego was paired with Strasbourg to participate in a learning exchange with a mutual interest in promoting more inclusivity in our cities, more active lifestyles, and mobility. At the outset of the program, we were fairly unfamiliar with Strasbourg; however, through frequent Skype video calls, our cities began to learn about each other’s programs and priorities. This highlighted just how many similarities our cities had and how much we had to learn from each other.

When I first arrived in Strasbourg, I was taken aback by the endless sea of bikes outside their train station. There were bikes everywhere. Noticeably missing was the sound of cars honking or the long line of Ubers waiting to pick up travelers. Throughout the week, the absence of cars became more noticeable. At rush hour, the tram was packed, but the roads were quiet. Walking around the city center, a location that would typically be packed with cars, we rarely saw them. This car-free city was the result of many planning initiatives and strategic programming, which provides Strasbourg’s citizens with multiple ways to quickly and easily navigate around their city, without a personal vehicle. From an employee bike share program that provides easy access to bikes for all city employees, to an extensive bike path network with intuitive signage, to a tram line that is both beautifully designed and incredibly convenient, Strasbourg’s mobility network produced endless inspiration to bring back to San Diego. They had a multitude of alternative options to the car, that were often both more convenient and more affordable.

In San Diego, we are actively working on providing expanded mobility options for commuters and residents, as well as supporting the mode shift away from single-occupancy vehicles towards public transit and active transportation. This includes bicyclists and pedestrians. Strasbourg is not only a model for options on how to implement this new mobility network, but also on how to share these initiatives with our citizens. Their Velostraus network functions as a modern-day transit system, with color-coded protected bike paths that facilitate ease of navigation and safety of travel. Strasbourg’s Vitaboucle connects recreation, wellness, and active transportation. This provides walking, running, and biking routes across the city, with designated stops containing workout stations.

The Vitaboucle, like the Velostraus, is color-coded, so the user can quickly determine the level of difficulty. It is also well-marked, so the user can easily navigate the route. Both these programs are shining examples of wayfinding systems and the integration of active transportation and recreation facilities into the city’s infrastructure. They provide both the opportunity to commute without a car and a free resource for recreation and fitness. Supporting the use of these networks, Strasbourg’s Veloptimiste goes beyond program logistics to bring citizens into the movement. It creates a brand that represents the larger positive lifestyle and attitude that riding your bike entails.

The Learning Exchange left me with a renewed excitement for the work I do and inspired me to keep thinking big when it comes to city planning. It highlighted that our commonalities are more extensive than our differences, both in the challenges we face and in the goals we strive to achieve. Both Strasbourg and San Diego are cities looking to create a more inclusive, sustainable, and active place to live for their citizens.

Thank you to IUC and EUintheUS for this ideal pairing and incredible learning opportunity.

Julia Chase is a Senior Planner at the City of San Diego Planning Department.

This story is part of the #USEUCities series, featuring stories written by EU and US participants in the EU’s International Urban Cooperation (IUC) City Pairings program that helps achieve local and international political objectives on sustainable urban development and climate change.

Read the press release and visit the IUC website to learn more.

From San Diego to Strasbourg: Exploring the Future of Mobility was originally published in Delegation of the European Union to the United States on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

More than 100 state economic development promoters gathered at the European Union Ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C., on February 11 to celebrate transatlantic trade and investment ties that help create more than six million American jobs.

The event capped off the two-day State International Development Organizations (SIDO) Washington Forum, which brought together state business and commerce professionals and economic development experts from across the United States.

“We work day and night with every state represented here tonight,” said EU Ambassador to the U.S. Stavros Lambrinidis in hosting the delegates. “We share values and we must work together to address our common challenges. I look forward to continuing this strong cooperation with SIDO.”

Ambassador Lambrinidis stressed the significance of the EU-U.S. economic ties, citing:

· The EU and the US are the two largest economies in the world

· 47 out of 50 US states trade more with the EU than they do with China

· 21 US states export more to the EU than they do to any other place in the world

· 70 percent of all foreign investment in the U.S. comes from the EU.

SIDO President Signe Pringle, Assistant Secretary at the Maryland Department of Commerce, presented Ambassador Lambrinidis with the “Ambassador of Global Trade” award in recognition of his ongoing efforts to promote EU-U.S. trade. “There is so much that we can offer to each other and so much we can learn from each other,” she said, “including in such areas as innovation and technology.” Pringle said state development officials need to increase efforts to share the story of the EU-U.S. economic partnership in local communities across the United States.

SIDO delegates were quick to point out the benefits that transatlantic trade brings to their home states. Dan Hendrix, President & CEO of the Arkansas World Trade Center explained that, “the EU is very important for Arkansas, and the statistics speak volumes about the economic impact. Roughly 37,000 jobs are supported annually by EU investments and EU-U.S. trade in Arkansas. In 2017, exports from Arkansas to the EU amounted to $2.47 billion. We have more than 115 companies from the EU in Arkansas.” Hendrix added that it, “is imperative to continue this commercial growth” including by “building relationship with EU officials and extending invitations to diplomats to visit Arkansas.”

The Director of International Trade at the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development Pawel Pietrasienski said, “In Nevada, we export close to $4 billion worth of goods and services to EU countries, which directly benefits our economy by creating better paid jobs when compared to non-export jobs. Additionally, companies from the EU have invested close to $7 billion in Nevada, adding wealth and more than 20,000 jobs to our economy.” More broadly, “the EU is a significant trading partner for every US state, and it is worth noting that the U.S. and EU enjoy a very balanced trade relationship benefiting both sides” Pietrasienski added.

Ambassador Lambrinidis said that trade, which benefits consumers and producers on both sides of the Atlantic, is part of the broader EU-U.S. partnership founded on shared common values. “The containers that carry goods across the Atlantic, also carry values, and unless we stick together, and uphold our values, we may find others setting the standards instead,” Lambrinidis said.

Ambassador Pjer Šimunović of Croatia, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, reinforced this message that there are no better partners in the world than the EU and the U.S. “We appreciate US investment in the EU, and we’re proud of EU investments in the United States,” he said. EU investment in the U.S. tops $2 trillion annually, more than half the size of the US federal budget.

The EU and the US trade and invest with each other more than they do with any other country or region, and this trade and investment creates millions of jobs in the U.S. and Europe. Organizations such as SIDO play an integral part in maintaining and further expanding these robust economic ties.

Useful links:

Pictures from the Celebration

EU-US trade and investment data on a state-by-state level

Ambassador Lambrinidis Named “Ambassador of Global Trade” was originally published in Delegation of the European Union to the United States on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Prior to visiting Baltimore, my colleagues and I had imagined it to be a place in decline. However, what we found instead was a strong and thriving city. Upon our return home to Italy, we were pleased to share what we had learned about this resilient and inspiring American city: a city that believes in itself and in its own desire for redemption.

A History of Systemic Racism

Our Turin delegation, hosted by the City of Baltimore, began our visit with an in-depth analysis of systemic racism in Baltimore. This provided us with a foundation from which we could better understand the critical impact of Baltimore’s historical framework on the interpersonal, institutional, and structural racism that is still evident today.

We were told that if you really want to understand the major challenges that Baltimore and the United States face today in regards to neighborhood delineations and economic inequities, you must account for the history of neighborhood segregation and redlining in the city.

Despite Baltimore’s deeply-rooted, complex history, the city seems to be at a critical juncture. It was clear that while there are still many neighborhoods struggling with vacancy, disinvestment, and social ills, there are as many other areas promising urban regeneration. Baltimore clearly exhibits the will to expand prosperity across all neighborhoods and is visibly working to more thoughtfully consider equality and inclusiveness as it relates to community development.

Baltimore’s urban transformation processes are ongoing, with a clear vision and a well-designed structure. We found the 235-acre “Port Covington” redevelopment — an estimated $5.5 billion, five-year project, particularly impressive.

Participatory Urban Regeneration

We came to understand that community development is driven by residents, community associations, anchor institutions, and private developers. The Southwest Partnership, made up of seven neighborhoods and six institutions in southwest Baltimore, is the perfect example of urban planning closely intertwined with a community-driven transformation process. With this formalized partnership, members of the community have ownership in the development of their community, allowing a diverse group of stakeholders to control the future for the neighborhoods in southwest Baltimore.

Baltimore has a multitude of projects working within a community development framework. The master plan to save the Preakness Stakes, the legendary horse race at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, would reinvest in the stadium to recenter it as an anchor for regeneration for currently neglected surrounding neighborhoods. The Park Heights redevelopment project is working to design residences to house new hospital employees as well as the elderly and long-time residents (who may also work at the hospital). This integrated housing plan will offer healthcare services supported by the hospital, and work to prevent displacement of long-time residents.

The City of Baltimore doesn’t back down on the allocation of public resources for redevelopment. We met with Live Baltimore, a non-profit organization created to promote city living and residential growth by providing grants to residents planning to buy their first home. Our visit with the organization reaffirmed the important role that public institutions can play in promoting inclusive and sustainable development. To my knowledge, no local public administrations in Italy, the homeland of traditional welfare, have gone quite as far to do so.

Social Innovation in Baltimore

Both Baltimore and Turin are primed for social innovation; we are investing in resources and ideas and are experimenting with innovative solutions and collaborative approaches to face urban poverty. Despite the historical and structural differences between the two cities, both Baltimore and Turin’s public sectors have the potential to provide powerful tools to leverage investments and can play an important role in promoting social innovation.

Tools and business models applied in Baltimore that could be replicated in Turin are as follows:

1. The adoption of an innovative financial instrument like Tax Increment Financing (TIF), which is a public financing method used as a subsidy for redevelopment, infrastructure, and other community-improvement projects;
2. The Seawall Development, based in Baltimore, which redevelops historic city buildings to create office spaces for non-profit organizations and housing for teachers. The development also co-designs adaptive reuse projects with new inhabitants (e.g. teachers and NGOs) to empower local communities.

Baltimore is a complex city, and one that is impossible to understand in only four days. It owns many unknown faces. In 1996 at a Johns Hopkins University lecture, Jacq Lecon said: “the best image to sum up the unconscious is Baltimore in the early morning.”

What does it mean? I’ll never know, but what I’m sure of is that in Baltimore the will to become a thriving inclusive and equitable city is very strong and I would like to feel the same unconscious desire in my city.

A special thank you to Colin and Amanda for their warm and professional hospitality, and to Tricia and Susana of the EU IUC North America programme for supporting us in building an effective and fruitful partnership between Turin and Baltimore.

Fabrizio Barbiero is the Social Innovation Chief Officer for the City of Turin, Italy. He traveled to Baltimore, Maryland in May 2019 with the EU International Urban Cooperation Programme alongside his colleagues Gianfranco, Elena, and Giulietta of the City of Turin, Italy, and the City of Turin Urban Lab.

This story is part of the #USEUCities series, featuring stories written by EU and US participants in the EU’s International Urban Cooperation (IUC) City Pairings program that helps achieve local and international political objectives on sustainable urban development and climate change.

Read the press release and visit the IUC website to learn more.

Cities Learning From Cities: Community-driven, Inclusive Urban Regeneration was originally published in Delegation of the European Union to the United States on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.