27 May 2021, online event. The UfM, in partnership with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) will organize an event for “Launching the UfM Progress Report on Regional Integration” on 27 May 2021 in an online format. In addition to presenting the key findings of this first edition of the UfM Progress Report and the recommendations that it offers, the event will also bring together representatives of different regional integration processes, free trade areas, as well as intergovernmental political and economic unions to share their respective experiences in promoting regional integration and to showcase best practices and success stories that can inspire the UfM region and that can be adapted and replicated in the Euro-Mediterranean context.
This event will serve as the first in a series of events dedicated by the UfM to regional integration, and the key recommendations will feature in an outcome document that will inform future actions on accelerating and consolidating the efforts undertaken in the several domains of integration in the UfM region.
Background information
On 23 January 2017, the UfM Ministers of Foreign Affairs adopted the “UfM Roadmap for Action” aiming at strengthening the role of the UfM towards an enhanced regional cooperation and integration in the Mediterranean. The Roadmap established the creation of a Progress Report on Regional Integration that would monitor major trends and evolutions with specific performance indicators to assess progress achieved in regional integration during periods of five years. The UfM commissioned the OECD to prepare the first issue of the Progress Report, with the financial support of the GIZ on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ).
The Report prepared by OECD examines five domains of regional integration, namely trade integration, financial integration, infrastructure integration, movement of people, as well as research and higher education. It presents the key takeaways and policy recommendations for each of these domains, based on specific performance indicators that can be monitored over time.
The Full Report is embargoed and will not be made public until the 21 May 2021. Contact us for further details