News

• UfM Secretary General Sijilmassi presented UfM initiatives and projects undertaken in 2015 to the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs. The meeting was also attended by members of the EP’s delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the UfM. • The Secretary General highlighted the UfM Secretariat’s commitment “to further contribute, through its activities, to tackling the socio-economic root causes of current security and migration challenges through an enhanced common agenda for human development, stability and integration in the Mediterranean.”… read more

• The Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, Fathallah Sijilmassi, received on 15 April the Vice-President of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB) in charge of international relations and cooperation, Alfred Bosch. • They exchanged views on UfM activities and discussed ways to continue advancing cooperation between the Secretariat and MedCities, a Euro-Mediterranean network of municipalities hosted by the AMB…. read more

• The southern shores of the Mediterranean are among the world’s most water-scarce, with over 150 million people affected. The UfM is implementing 15 projects specifically on Sustainable Development, representing close to €4 billion in investments for the region • The 1st Meeting of the Drafting Group of the UfM Expert Water Group has taken place in Athens to discuss ways to further cooperate through a common regional agenda…. read more

• In order to stimulate job creation and foster youth employability in the region, urgent measures need to be taken such as increasing labour demand, improving policies for demand-supply matching and promoting the transition from informal to formal employment, among others. • Fostering youth employment is a key priority for the UfM as it is essential for regional human development, stability and integration. Ministers of Employment from the 43 UfM member States will meet at the 3rd UfM Ministerial Meeting on Employment and Labour on 26 September 2016…. read more

• The Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and UN-Habitat sign a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen collaboration for an integrated approach to urban development, focusing on water management, risk reduction and resilience. • Fostering sustainable urban development is paramount to effectively advance integration, stability and human development in the Mediterranean…. read more

UfM Deputy Secretary General for Social and Civil Affairs, Delphine Borione, at the 60th edition of the Commission on the Status of Women: “Fostering regional cooperation initiatives in the fields of youth employability and women’s empowerment is paramount to effectively advance regional integration, stability and human development in our region”. The fight against violence was a key issue discussed at the event jointly organised by the UfM Secretariat, UN Women, and the Ministry of Solidarity, Women, Family and Social Development of Morocco and on 14 March, 2016, in New York. New York, 14 March 2016. The UfM Secretariat participated at… read more

Barcelona, 22 March 2016. The Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean ‎strongly condemns the terrorist attacks ‎perpetrated in Brussels, host to the EU institutions. It presents its condolences to the families of the victims ‎and expresses its profound solidarity with the people and the Government of Belgium as well as with the EU institutions ‎and with all victims of terrorism.‎ Our thoughts and wishes are also with the numerous wounded and their families. The Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean reiterates its firm condemnation of ‎all acts of terrorism, extremism and violence. It reaffirms its unshakeable faith in… read more

Better water, better jobs. Better water through enhanced cooperation and integration brings more human development and stability to the Mediterranean. The southern shores of the Mediterranean are among the world’s most water-scarce, with over 150 million people affected. The UfM is implementing 15 projects specifically on Sustainable Development, representing close to €4 billion in investments for the region…. read more

Paris, 21 March 2016. The Director of the École nationale des ponts et chaussées (École des Ponts Paris Tech), Mr. Armel Labourdonnaye, and the President of the Euro-Mediterranean University of Fes (UEMF), Mr. Mostapha Bousmina, signed a partnership agreement at the Embassy of Morocco in Paris. The signing was attended by Amb. Chakib Benmoussa and Mr. Mohamed Kabbaj, Chancellor of the UEMF. Under the agreement, the Ecole des Ponts Paris Tech and the UEMF reiterate their desire to build a partnership based on training and research programmes of excellence addressing socio-economic issues in the Mediterranean. The agreement is focused on two… read more

Berlin, 17 March 2016. The Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Fathallah Sijilmassi is conducting an official working visit to Germany to hold talks with German authorities on the state of play of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation. State Secretary for Foreign affairs Markus Ederer and Secretary General Sijilmassi held a bilateral meeting to discuss Euro-Mediterranean cooperation and current regional challenges, as well as the consolidation of the role of the Union for the Mediterranean for the reinforcement of regional cooperation and integration. Working meetings were held at the Ministry for Foreign affairs with General Director for political Affairs Sabine Sparwasser… read more