UfM member states gather in Barcelona to discuss the next steps of the organisation’s reform
22 February 2024, Barcelona – Representatives of UfM Ministries of Foreign Affairs gathered last week for their first Senior Officials meeting of 2024, to review the situation in the region, and discuss next steps for the UfM reform. In 2023, on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the organisation, a reform process was launched to enhance the role, functioning and impact of the UfM in the region. Following the first package of measures adopted last year, new elements regarding the mandate and resources of the organisation will be discussed.
Further to that, UfM Senior Officials received an update on the recent launch of the Mediterranean Capitals of Culture and Dialogue 2025 campaign : Alexandria and Tirana will become the first-ever Mediterranean Capitals of Culture and Dialogue next year. The initiative, coordinated by the Union for the Mediterranean and the Anna Lindh Foundation, honours the Euro-Mediterranean region’s cultural diversity while fostering greater mutual understanding and dialogue among its inhabitants.
Each city will host a yearlong programme of activities, including conferences, sporting events, and cultural performances, that engage with civil society and have a Euro-Mediterranean dimension to them. Both Mediterranean Capitals will also partake in collaborative exchanges. Applications for the 2026 edition are open until July 7.
Finally, Senior Officials exchanged as well with the promoter of the Euro-Mediterranean Guarantee Network (EMGN), a UfM-labelled project that seeks to alleviate the region’s structural constraints for MSMEs to access to finance by gathering guarantee schemes. Ms. Nagla Bahr, EMGN’s president, updated the member states’ representatives with the latest advancements of the project and the role the UfM played in pushing it forward across the region.
