News

21 June 2019, Marseille. The Union for the Mediterranean, represented by its Deputy Secretay General Miguel Garcia Herraiz took part to the international seminar “Strengthening cooperation efforts for a more cohesive, inclusive and sustainable Mediterranean”, held within the frame of the General Assembly of the CPMR Inter-Mediterranean Commission. The CPRM Assembly, taking place back to back with the Sommet des deux Rives, was the occasion to discuss issues such as green/blue/circular economy, sustainable consumption and production. These topics were addressed within the Palermo event, organized by Italy, in preparation and as contribution of the Sommet in Marseille. The seminar focused on… read more

While the region is experiencing increasing enrolment rates in tertiary education – expected to reach 40% by 2030 on the southern shores of the Mediterranean, almost a third of employers consider that skills shortages are a constraint to hiring. The annual conference of the HOMERe project was held under the theme “Employment and Employability: Adequacy to the Mediterranean Labour Market” as part of the Summit of the Two Shores. The conference was the occasion of the launch of the second phase of the HOMERe project: 250 young people will be placed in an international final internship in the Mediterranean by the… read more

Over 150 representatives of the private sector, civil society, governments and international organizations gathered in Cairo to discuss how to strengthen Market Access and e-Commerce in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The Forum, which comes as an immediate response to the mandate tasked to the UfM Secretariat by the Trade Ministers in 2018, is the first UfM event fully dedicated to Trade. The UfM reiterated its support to the Agadir Agreement and announced the launch of a capacity building programme in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The UfM region remains to be one of the least economically… read more

14 June 2019, Valletta. The 6th South EU Summit -also referred to as Southern EU Countries Summit-, which was hosted in Malta’s capital city of Valletta, underlined the need for multilateral efforts for a positive Mediterranean agenda based on human and sustainable development. The final declaration highlighted the role of the UfM as a key partner to “promote dialogue and convert challenges into opportunities” as well as achieve “a peaceful, stable and prosperous Mediterranean region”. The South EU Summit gathered heads of State of France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, and the hosting nation, Malta, and picked up from where the… read more

Eighty-one graduate students recently became the first to earn a Master’s degree from the Euromed University of Fes, one of the flagship projects of the Union for the Mediterranean. This first graduation ceremony, attended by an array of European and Moroccan political figures, marks an important milestone for the University. Fes, 15 June 2019 – The Euromed University of Fes celebrated a new generation of young Euro-Mediterranean leaders during its first graduation ceremony of Masters programmes.  The awards, which were handed out in a high-profile ceremony attended by 600 participants, marked a major milestone for the University which received the… read more

Paris, 13 June 2019. The UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel has participated in the UfM Gas Platform Conference held today in Paris. The conference has tackled the key Role of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) in the Mediterranean Gas Security and has gathered high-level speakers including the Minister of Petroleum of Egypt and the Director-General for Energy of the European Commission, as well as the Director-General of OME (Observatoire Méditerranéen de l’Energie) which ensures the secretariat of the UfM Gas Platform. The Mediterranean region is home to an increasing population of over 500 million people with growing energy demand. Indeed, a 62% increase… read more

13 June 2019, Barcelona. The Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Nasser Kamel, received today in the UfM headquarters in Barcelona the High Representative of the United Nations for the Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), Miguel Ángel Moratinos. UNAOC is mentioned in the Paris Declaration of 2008, that established the UfM, as an important institution for the development of the Cultural dimension of Euro-Mediterranean relations. The UfM is a member of the Group of Friends of the UNAOC and the two institutions have already cooperated in a number of joint initiatives, namely the High Level meeting on Intercultural… read more

5+5 Dialogue countries adopted a new set of priorities and a work plan for 2019-2020, promoting sustainable economic growth, social inclusion and creating new opportunities for youth in the Western Mediterranean Region The work plan includes the project “BlueSkills: Blue Jobs and Responsible Growth in the Mediterranean”, labelled by the UfM in March 2019 Rome, 10 June 2019. The Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Nasser Kamel, addressed the Ministers in charge of Research, Innovation and Higher Education of the countries of the Western Mediterranean Forum (commonly referred to as “5+5 Dialogue”) on the occasion of their… read more

Brussels, 11 June 2019. The UfM organized on 11 June 2019 its first technical Workshop on Project Preparation for Transformational Climate Resilience Water Projects in the Mediterranean Region for the Green Climate Fund. The Mediterranean is one of the 25 climate change hotspot cuasing water scarcity, demographic change including concentration of economic activities and population in coastal areas, changing consumption patterns with growing energy needs and reliance on climate-sensitive agriculture, etc. The region is expected to face even more severe climate‑related vulnerabilities, such as extreme weather events like droughts and floods, increase of soil erosion and desert areas, sea level rise, etc.,… read more

Following the preparatory thematic fora held in various cities of the region in the run up to the Summit of the Two Shores, the Tunis forum brought together 100 civil society personalities from the 5+5 Dialogue countries. The event retained concrete project proposals and recommendations for practical cooperation that will be presented to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Western Mediterranean next 24 June in Marseille. The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) actively participated in the Forum by putting forward the views and project ideas of the youth and civil society from all the European Union and Mediterranean countries…. read more