•Maltese Minister Konrad Mizzi, European Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete and UfM Deputy Secretary General Borrego, inaugurate today in Valetta (Malta) the Informal High level meeting on Energy Efficiency in the Mediterranean. •UfM Ministers in charge of energy, government representatives and stakeholders will discuss how to enhance regional cooperation on energy efficiency solutions…. read more
•The UfM Secretariat participated in the 4th Summit of Presidents of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (PA-UfM), which took place in Rome on 12 May under the outgoing presidency of Laura Boldrini, President of the Italian Parliament, and Pietro Grasso, President of the Italian Senate. Ali Abdel Aal, Speaker of the Egyptian House of Representatives, was elected as the new President. •The 13th Plenary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly, which took place on 13 May, gathered more than 300 parliamentarians from UfM countries to discuss the current challenges and opportunities concerning employment, inclusive growth and sustainable… read more
•UfM Foreign Affairs Ministers give strong political impulse to the Union for the Mediterranean by endorsing a new Roadmap for Action. •The UfM consolidates an action-driven methodology with a common ambition by creating effective links between the policy dimension and its operational translation into concrete projects and initiatives on the ground. •10 new projects were labelled in 2016. The year concludes with a total of 47 region-wide projects with a budget of €5.3 billion. The tangible positive impact from the first wave of projects is already visible involving over 200,000 beneficiaries in the region, mainly women and young people…. read more
•35 engaged young men and women from 24 countries from the north and south of the Mediterranean exchanged on ideas and shared experiences for better cooperation on youth priorities in the Mediterranean region…. read more
Nairobi (Kenya), 10 May 2017. UfM Deputy Secretary General Ihab Fahmy addressed the Governing Council of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) on the occasion of its 26th session held at the United Nations Offices in Nairobi, Kenya on 8 -12 May 2017. This Governing Council (GC26), which takes place a few months after the Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) in Quito, Ecuador in October 2016, was centred on ´Opportunities for the effective implementation of the adopted New Urban Agenda´. The meeting addressed pressing issues such as inclusive, sustainable and adequate housing for a better… read more
•Research Ministers from the UfM Member States gathered today in Malta in order to strengthen Euro-Mediterranean regional cooperation through research and innovation. •The priority topics addressed were research and innovation’s role in addressing the root causes of migration and promoting ‘blue’ jobs and growth in the Mediterranean as well as the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area – PRIMA…. read more
• The 4th AECHE Conference aims to strengthen a process of dialogue and cooperation between universities in European, Mediterranean and Gulf countries, supported by the Union for the Mediterranean Secretariat. • The 150 participants from the political and academic worlds, the research community and civil society of the Mediterranean region highlighted the crucial role that research and innovation plays in resolving social issues in the fields of water, energy and food security…. read more
•Ministers in charge of water from the UfM Member States recalled that the Mediterranean region is particularly vulnerable to water scarcity and that climate change exacerbates the pressure on existing water resources in the region. •They agreed to develop a Union for the Mediterranean Water Agenda to help UfM Member States implement sustainable and integrated water management policies and contribute to a sustainable livelihood for the region’s citizens, recalling the importance of the Paris agreement and reaffirming their commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development. •Ministers also called for an improvement of access to finance in order to face… read more
On 10 April, 2017, the Heads of State or Government of Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain convened in Madrid at the 3rd Summit of Southern European Union Countries, where they reaffirmed their support to the Union for the Mediterranean and stressed its “central role in the consolidation of Euro-Mediterranean regional cooperation, as an expression of co-ownership in the management of our common regional agenda in order to effectively and collectively address our current challenges”. The Madrid Declaration, adopted at the end of the Summit, also refers to the review of the European Neighbourhood Policy highlighting “the EU’s… read more
• The 2017 EMUNI Annual Conference, held in Piran on 5-6 April, brought together policy makers, academics, business sector representatives and young leaders from the Euro-Mediterranean region. • Participants highlighted the crucial role of higher education institutions in forging responsible and committed citizens while fostering youth employability and developing entrepreneurship skills…. read more
