20th UfM Regional Platform on Employment and Labour

23-24 March 2026, Valencia, Spain – The 20^th UfM Regional Platform on Employment and Labour in Valencia, Spain will give an important impetus to the implementation of the ambitious Union for the Mediterranean Action Plan on Employment and Labour 2026-2028, bringing together national focal points from the UfM Member States and Social Partners’ regional organisations to discuss pathways for implementation with a focus on the future of jobs and skills in the Euro-Mediterranean region, which still features structural youth unemployment, a high level of informality, and an alarming rate of people Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEETs). The Platform members will notably present how they are implementing or will implement the Action Plan, while an update on the regional programming and the implementation of the Pact for the Mediterranean will be discussed.

Exploring regional efforts for boosting Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, the Platform members will engage in a dedicated session with Interreg NEXT MED cooperation projects aimed at addressing challenges at Mediterranean level for job creation. It is estimated that every single year, there are 2.8 million graduates entering the labour market in the MENA region alone, which makes employment creation a paramount priority for economic and social development.

In a focused session back-to-back with the Regional Platform meeting, members of the Community of Practice (CoP) on Youth Employment will gather to explore scenarios of implementing initiatives proposed in the first two cohorts, in relation with the implementation of the Action Plan as well as the Pact for the Mediterranean.

The Regional Platform on Employment and Labour meets twice per year, chaired by the UfM Co-Presidency: the European Commission (DG EMPL) and Jordan (Ministry of Labour) and bring together representatives from employment and labour ministries/agencies and Social Partners’ regional organisations from the UfM Member States as well as representatives from European institutions/agencies, international organisations and experts.