UfM Secretariat participates in seminar “Restoring the Broken Link: a joined approach to Security, Development, and Democracy in North Africa”

Barcelona, 2 July, 2013. The UfM Secretariat participated in the seminar “Restoring the Broken Link: a joined approach to Security, Development, and Democracy in North Africa”, organized by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB), the National Distance Education University (UNED) and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECID), at the headquarters of CIDOB, in Barcelona. The seminar discussed the links between security, development and democracy in the Southern shore of the Mediterranean.

Panel discussions tackled issues such as the Arab Spring Programmes of the EU Member States and analysed the findings after the implementation of concrete programmes in some countries. The seminar drew conclusions for policy recommendations in the region.

The Secretary General of the UfM gave a keynote speech where he pointed out the need to give greater importance to the regional dimension of policies in the Mediterranean region. Secretary General Sijilmassi highlighted that the major challenges of the region, namely sustainable development, economic growth, job creation, and social inclusion have a regional dimension, and thus require a strong regional focus.

The seminar also counted with the contribution of the EU Special Representative for the Southern Mediterranean, Mr. Bernardino León.