The 11^th Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Regional Forum takes place at a pivotal moment for Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, one year after the 30^th anniversary of the Barcelona Process. The commemorations in 2025 marked a renewed commitment to regional cooperation and laid the foundations for a new chapter in regional relations, shaped by the adoption of the Pact for the Mediterranean and the UfM Vision Statement. Together, these frameworks set out a renewed ambition for the region and provided a basis for advancing cooperation in the years ahead.

Against this backdrop, the 2026 Regional Forum will bring together UfM Ministers of Foreign Affairs to take stock of Mediterranean cooperation and to reflect on how the UfM can best serve shared ownership, policy coherence and partnerships around common priorities. Its ambition is to connect political dialogue with action on the ground, so that cooperation produces results that are visible, measurable and meaningful to communities across the region.

This exchange will be informed by the work carried out through a number of side events held on the margins of the Forum. Bringing together key actors in Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, discussions will focus on strengthening regional resilience, fostering more inclusive and effective cooperation, and delivering results that are increasingly visible, measurable and meaningful to citizens. They will also provide an opportunity to reflect on the role of the UfM in supporting the implementation of shared priorities, promoting policy coherence and further strengthening partnerships across the region.

Emphasising the importance of multi-level cooperation, a dedicated event will bring together Mediterranean cities. This will add a local dimension to the regional debate, recognising the essential role of cities and local actors in addressing shared challenges and ensuring that cooperation responds to the needs and realities of communities across the Mediterranean.

Gender equality will constitute another important dimension of this year’s gathering, as a condition for resilience, inclusive growth and democratic governance. In the lead-up to the ministerial meeting, the UfM Regional Platform on Women’s Empowerment will convene representatives of UfM Member States responsible for gender equality, alongside civil society and other stakeholders. The Platform will present the 2^nd UfM Gender Equality Progress Report, as part of the UfM’s intergovernmental monitoring mechanism. A complementary civil society conference will provide a space to examine the main challenges to gender equality and identify priority measures and avenues for action. This process will pave the way for the next UfM Ministerial Conference on Strengthening the Role of Women in Society, expected in 2027.

Building on the momentum of 2025, the 11^th UfM Regional Forum will seek to strengthen political commitment and regional ownership, advancing cooperation that responds to shared challenges and contributes to a more peaceful, inclusive and resilient Mediterranean.

The Conference on Civil Society, Women and Resilience in the Mediterranean takes place in the context of the Union for the Mediterranean’s regional policy dialogue on Women Empowerment, which takes forward the collective commitments of the UfM Ministerial Declaration on Strengthening the role of Women in Society 2022. Conceived as a structured civil society participatory space, it builds upon the conclusions of the 2025 Euro-Mediterranean Civil Society Conference, which called for a renewed phase of partnership based on co-creation, strengthened civic space, structured dialogue and greater coherence among Euro-Mediterranean stakeholders

Organised in the framework of the Union for the Mediterranean’s regional platform on women’s empowerment, the meeting will bring together around 40 representatives of civil society organisations, Arab and Euro-Mediterranean women-led initiatives, researchers, practitioners and policy actors from across the region. Discussions will assess the implementation of existing UfM commitments and formulate civil society recommendations to inform the next UfM Ministerial Declaration on women’s empowerment and gender equality. In this context, the conference seeks to provide a structured civil society contribution to the next stages of the UfM gender equality agenda, while also supporting the implementation of the Pact for the Mediterranean and the European Union’s external action priorities on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

On 23 and 24 November 2026, the UfM Regional Platform on Women Empowerment meets in Barcelona to begin preparing the 6th UfM Ministerial Declaration on Strengthening the Role of Women in Society, which is expected to be endorsed by the end of 2027. Representatives in charge of women’s affairs from across the region will look at how far countries have come since the Ministerial Declaration adopted in Madrid in 2022, what is still missing and which priorities should shape the next regional agenda on gender equality.

After the Euromed Civil Society Conference, a Stakeholders Dialogue will present the second UfM Gender Equality Progress Report and launch new regional initiatives on women entrepreneurs in agri-food and on access to finance. The evening ends with the Women Leading Change Award and the Euro-Mediterranean Women Journalists Award.

On 23 November 2026, mayors from key Mediterranean cities meet in Barcelona for the Conference of Mediterranean Cities, ahead of the 11th UfM Regional Forum. IEMed and MedCities are organising it, with support from Barcelona City Council and Barcelona Provincial Council. Under the theme “Local multilateralism in an evolving regional framework”, the mayors will discuss how cities can have a stronger voice in Euro-Mediterranean and European decisions.

Cities are often the first to feel the impact of war, displacement and climate change, and they are also where recovery begins. The mayors will share resilience cases from their cities and agree on a Joint Declaration, which will feed into the UfM side event on Mediterranean resilience the following day.

The UfM will host the first working meeting of the prospective consortium for PPRD Med II, a future EU-funded programme to strengthen regional civil protection cooperation. Led by Expertise France, the consortium will bring together the UfM, Entente Valabre (France), Pau Costa Foundation (Spain), CERIDES and CRAFS (Cyprus). The three-year programme, expected to start in December 2026 with a planned budget of €7 million, will support the implementation of the UfM Civil Protection Action Plan 2025–2030, endorsed by all 43 Member States.

The meeting will align the programme’s activities with priorities identified by the three UfM Working Groups on Prevention, Preparedness and Response, co-chaired respectively by Algeria–France, Palestine–Syria and Cyprus–Lebanon. Building on previous UfM wildfire cooperation initiatives, the programme will also support CRAFS and promote technical cooperation, training and knowledge exchanges, strengthening regional ownership and long-term disaster resilience.

On 24 November 2026, the UfM and the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) will hold the event From commitments to delivery: Mediterranean cooperation and resilience in a fragmented world at the Palau de Pedralbes in Barcelona.

With the UfM Vision Statement and the Pact for the Mediterranean now in place, the region has no shortage of strategies. The question is how to turn them into results people can see.

Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Union for the Mediterranean will gather in Barcelona for the 11^th UfM Regional Forum.

While the Mediterranean region is rich in opportunities, it continues to face crises and remains at the crossroads of multiple challenges that affect the peoples on different shores, with a risk of a wider escalation. The meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss common Mediterranean challenges and mobilise efforts to turn them into opportunities.

The ministerial meeting is expected to be co-chaired by Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, and Ayman Safadi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Jordan. The meeting will be hosted by José Manuel Albares, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain, with the participation of the UfM Secretary General ad interim, Fadi Hajali.

On 25 and 26 November, Marseille hosts the mid-term event of the Interreg Euro-MED Programme, labelled as a side event of the 11th UfM Regional Forum. Halfway through the programme, its projects will show what they have already achieved for a greener and smarter Mediterranean, on issues such as water scarcity, wildfire risk, the circular economy and sustainable tourism

Participants will also discuss how these results can shape public policy and the programme’s priorities after 2027.  On the first day, the UfM is co-organising MED Talks with the Interreg NEXT MED and PRIMA programmes, a session on projects that bring partners from across the Mediterranean together.