The UfM: an action-driven
organisation with a common ambition
The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) is an intergovernmental Euro-Mediterranean organisation which brings together all countries of the European Union and 15 countries of the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean.
How does the UfM contribute to regional stability, human development and integration?
There is no development without security and no security without development. It is crucial to strengthen the security-development nexus in order to create the appropriate environment conducive to socio-economic development and to address in a comprehensive and balanced manner the challenges of the region. Because of its geographical composition, institutional governance and working methodology, the UfM is the ideal organisation for taking into account the priorities of both the EU – as reflected in the reviewed ENP and the Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy – and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries.
The impact of UfM activities on regional stability through their connection with the development dimension are an important parameter of the region’s overall well-being. By concentrating all efforts on two main pillars of action, fostering human development and promoting regional sustainable development, UfM projects and initiatives contribute to regional stability and regional integration, be it, for example, through the cross-sectorial flagship on job creation initiative Med4Jobs or as a result of the socio-economic impact of strategic infrastructure and innovative urban development projects through the Urban Projects Finance Initiative (UPFI).
Our mission
UfM’s mission is to enhance regional cooperation, dialogue and the implementation of projects and initiatives with tangible impact on our citizens, with an emphasis on young people and women, in order to address the three strategic objectives of the region: stability, human development and integration.
The Mediterranean in action
The UfM works proactively to achieve greater levels of integration and cooperation in the region through a specific methodology that has yielded positive results in terms of political dialogue and the implementation of region-wide initiatives in which young people play a key role.
With more than 50 labelled projects and over 300 ministerial and expert fora gathering 25,000 stakeholders since 2012, UfM activities illustrate the strong belief that regional challenges call for regional solutions and that there is no security without development.
The Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean is the operational platform of the UfM
The Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean, based in Barcelona is the first permanent structure dedicated to the intergovernmental Mediterranean partnership. It ensures operational follow-up of the regional priorities identified and in partnership with key international actors promotes region-wide cooperation projects and initiatives that address the root causes of the current regional security and socio-economic challenges.
