News

• UfM Secretary General Sijilmassi met in Madrid with the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Alfonso María Dastis Quecedo, to discuss the Euro-Mediterranean agenda and reaffirm the strategic partnership between the UfM and Spain, one of its main contributors and host to its Secretariat. He also held working sessions with Deputy Ministers and other high officials. • The Spanish authorities reiterated their strong support for the UfM and discussed with the Secretary General the preparations for the Second UfM Regional Forum which Spain is hosting on 23 and 24 January in Barcelona. During his working visit to Madrid… read more

The UfM Secretariat has initiated a regional dialogue on higher education, internationalisation and academic mobility involving more than 20 relevant experts from UfM Member States, the European Commission and other institutions. • The experts discussed the impact and sustainability of university partnerships as well as the issues of governance and capacity-building, credit recognition, visas, the brain drain and youth employability…. read more

Sarajevo, 13 December 2016. On December 13, 2016 the Secretary General of the UfM, Mr. Fathallah Sijilmassi, accompanied by the Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Sudqi Al Omoush, paid an official visit to Sarajevo at the invitation of the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The delegation of the UfM Secretariat held discussions with H.E. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Igor Crnadak, who reiterated his country’s continuous support to the UFM and expressed appreciation for the progress achieved by the Secretariat in strengthening the regional integration and development. During the meeting, UfM Secretary General Mr. Fathallah Sijilmassi and… read more

• The UfM Secretariat participated in the Ministerial Conference for the Action Plan on Education for Sustainable Development in the Mediterranean, held at the invitation of the Minister of Education and Culture of the Cyprus Republic, Costas Kadis, in Nicosia, Cyprus, on 8-9 December. • An Action Plan on Education for Sustainable Development in the Mediterranean was adopted. Nicosia, 8-9 December 2016. The Ministerial Conference culminated in the adoption of an Action Plan on Education for Sustainable Development in the Mediterranean, that identifies 16 priority thematic issues where specific regional programmes and projects should be further enhanced or newly developed, inter… read more

Rome, 1 December 2016. Gathered today in Rome for a meeting hosted by Italy’s Foreign Affairs Minister Paolo Gentiloni and Economic Development Minister Carlo Calenda, the ministers in charge of energy from the 43 members of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) agreed to step up regional cooperation on energy in order to deliver a secure, affordable and sustainable energy supply, a major factor for stability and shared prosperity in the Mediterranean region. At the meeting, co-chaired by the European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete, and the Jordanian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ibrahim Saif,… read more

• The UfM Secretary General, Fathallah Sijilmassi, participated in the seminar ‘Climate change agreements between Paris and Marrakech: ratifying and implementing’ jointly organised by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and Environmental Affairs and the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation in Madrid. • Participants discussed the state of global action against climate change in the scientific, political, economic, territorial and technological fields, following the UN’s recent Climate Change Conference, COP22, in Marrakech. • The Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) actively participated in this year’s COP22, designated as the ‘COP of Action’, by launching two major regional… read more

UfMS hosts the Deauville Partnership Senior Officials Meeting under the Japanese G7 Presidency which highlights the importance of promoting synergies between the UfM and Deauville Partnership frameworks. Barcelona, 22 November 2016. As an observer to the Deauville Process, the Union for the Mediterranean today hosted the second Deauville Partnership Senior Officials meeting, organised under the 2016 Japanese Presidency of the G7. With participation from both governance and finance tracks as well as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the main focus of the meeting was to discuss the progress made on economic governance strategic support for SMEs and future… read more

• EU Commissioner Arias Cañete, President of the Energy Commission of the Parliamentary Assembly of UfM Samir Mourad, President of the Scientific Committee of COP22 Nizar Baraka, UfM Secretary General Fathallah Sijilmassi and other officials, experts and stakeholders discuss opportunities that the transition towards low carbon and climate-resilient development could bring for peace and stability in the Mediterranean region. • The publication “Key players’ perspective on Climate Change in the Mediterranean” will be presented. Marrakech, 17 November 2016. Today at COP22 in Marrakech, high-level personalities including the EU Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete, President of the… read more

Marrakech, 14 November 2016. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) launched a joint programme today aimed at the development of private renewable energy markets in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. The SEMED Private Renewable Energy Framework (SPREF), a €227.5 million financing framework, was presented during the EU Energy Day at the COP22 international climate conference in Marrakesh. The programme will help the region reduce its heavy dependence on imports of hydrocarbons. It aims to mobilise additional investment from other parties, including the Climate Investment Funds’ Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and the… read more

• The Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) is actively participating in this year’s COP22, designated as the “COP of Action”, to launch specific regional initiatives and projects aimed at helping achieve the Paris Agreement targets in the Euro-Mediterranean region. • The Union for the Mediterranean and the European Commission will launch the UfM Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Platform (REEE) to promote progressive deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency measures in order to foster socio-economic development in the Euro-Mediterranean region. • The Union for the Mediterranean together with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)… read more