News

5-6 October 2020, Madrid. UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel and Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya met today in Madrid to discuss the preparations of the 5th UfM Regional Forum, that will gather the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the UfM Member States in Barcelona by the end of this year. Building on the success of the first four editions, the Forum will provide the opportunity to take stock and analyse the future prospects for cooperation in the Euro-Mediterranean region, exactly 25 years after the launch of the Barcelona Process, which paved the way for the creation of the Union for the Mediterranean in 2008. The Forum will be presided by the Co-Presidency of the Union for the Mediterranean, assumed by the High Representative of… read more

The ever-growing tourism sector is facing a current decline of 60%, a number which could potentially increase to 80% if recovery is delayed until December 2020, according to the OECD. The worst affected countries during the COVID-19 crisis have been those positioned on both shores of the Mediterranean Sea, accounting for a third of the income of international tourism. 2 October 2020. Tourism being one of the sectors most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic is more than ever required to adapt to the new normality. Which solutions is the sector offering to ensure a safe and accessible tourism for all… read more

30 September 2020 – The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) signed on 30 September 2020 a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) where they reassert their common ambition to support ongoing and political reforms in the Southern and eastern Mediterranean countries.  Jointly contributing to the development of an area of peace, stability, democracy and prosperity in the Mediterranean is of outmost importance for the two institutions that reaffirm their willingness to work together in the areas of business, social and civil affairs, energy, water, development, transport, higher education and research. Transition toward a… read more

VIENNA, September 21, 2020 – The Principality of Monaco has recently signed its first funding agreement with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the two parties have agreed a tripartite declaration together with the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) on empowering women in Tunisia through inclusive and sustainable industrial development. At a meeting today LI Yong, Director General of UNIDO, and Isabelle Rosabrunetto, Director General of the Department of External Relations and Cooperation of the Principality of Monaco, confirmed the strong willingness of the partners to collaborate further in this field. Li recalled that “the empowerment of women is a… read more

The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Member States endorsed a regional intergovernmental mechanism that will provide data for scientific-based policies and support the implementation of gender-related Sustainable Development Goals to ultimately tap into the full potential of women in the Euro-Mediterranean region.  Barcelona, 30 July 2020. The UfM Member States endorsed an intergovernmental set of indicators as part of a UfM Ministerial follow-up mechanism that will allow to monitor the progress made on gender equality in the Euro-Mediterranean region. This mechanism has been developed as a follow-up to the UfM Ministerial Declaration on Strengthening the Role of Women in Society, adopted in 2017 in Cairo.    Following consultations with the Member States, the UfM Secretariat had proposed and designed a set of 20 gender indicators within the following 4 priority areas, in addition to a proposal of tools… read more

Read the stories of three local champions in the fight against climate change, in the framework of the UfM-supported project Clima-Med.   31 July 2020. Born and raised in Beirut, Marwan Kaiss is the Mayor of the Batloun Municipality in the Chouf area, 45km inland from Lebanon’s bustling capital city. Passionate about preparing Lebanon for the future, he returned to university at 53 years old and completed his Masters at the age of 60 and was then elected to his current position. Despite challenging circumstances, much of his time in public office has been at the forefront of a burgeoning local… read more

Member states of Union for the Mediterranean agreed to advance solutions to meet water-related socioeconomic challenges, promoting climate resilience, while assisting women and youth towards job creation during the Joint Water-Employment-Migration (WEM) and Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Task Forces Meeting of the UfM Water Agenda. 23 July 2020. The UfM Task Forces on Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus and Water-Employment-Migration (WEM) held a joint online meeting on 23 July 2020, which constituted the 4th meeting of the WEFE Task Force, and the 5th meeting of the WEM Task force. The purpose of combining the two TFs’ meetings was to jointly identify priorities of the… read more

15-17 July 2020.  Women have not benefitted equality from industrial and technological development and have been profoundly tested by the Covid-19 health crisis, where women-led businesses have been specially hit. Half of the women-led enterprises in the Euro-Mediterranean region have had to suspend all activity. To focus on these challenges, the UfM partnered with UNIDO for the conference Women in Industry and Innovation – Building women‘s resilience to global challenges and emerging crises which took place online on 15-17 July 2020, gathering over 1600 users. The conference addressed how to improve resilience along value chains, realising emerging opportunities through ICTs… read more

The Senior Officials of the Member States of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) held a virtual meeting to exchange on the upcoming activities of the organization, especially within the current context, and in the framework of the 25th anniversary of the Barcelona Process. Barcelona, 22 June 2020. Due to the extraordinary circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the work priorities of the Union for the Mediterranean have rapidly adapted to help the region tackle the current situation. To take stock of the ongoing actions, the Member States of the UfM met virtually at the level of Senior Officials from the Ministries of Foreign… read more

15 July 2020. The coronavirus has challenged the core of what makes cities vibrant and successful: busy streets full of people. Will these cities ever come back to be the same? The webinar on Euro-Mediterranean cities in the post-pandemic era, organised by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) in cooperation with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre reflected on sustainable urban development in the Mediterranean region after COVID-19, climate change, cultural heritage, and on the approach of the 2011 UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape.  The event was opened by the UfM Secretary-General, Nasser Kamel, chaired by the Deputy Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Dr Jyoti Hosagrahar, and structured around a conversation with Prof. Richard Sennett, Senior Fellow at the Centre on Capitalism and Society at… read more