Brussels, 26/01/2011 (Agence Europe) -A letter was addressed to UfM (Union for the Mediterranean) member states on 26 January from the organisation's Secretary General Ahmad Massa'deh. In brief, he announces, “I am leaving”, after a year in this post. The year was spent getting the organisation structure, personnel and senior managers up and running. It also developed a scaled down budget (compared to the initial proposal), in addition to a work programme, judged by member states to be too ambitious and unrealistic.
In his letter, the former Jordanian ambassador to Brussels explained that he had accomplished some good work: “I am proud that after a year of hard work, several steps have been taken. Despite difficult circumstances… we have been able to finalise the institution's implementation”. He also said that this work had increased the profile of the organisation, which was ready to function. He explained that he was leaving the secretariat general in good working order. Nonetheless, he did say that the nature of his mandate had been changed since the founding summit (Paris, July2008) and that “for all these reasons, I submit my resignation”, which will be effective from 28 February.
This defection has been noted, even though the UfM (despite all the reservations expressed at the outset by several member states about the overall nature and shape of the organisation, as well as how its headquarters in Barcelona have been managed) has ultimately ended up by being acccepted not as a comprehensive project but an example of project coordination. The next meeting of senior officials is due to take place in Brussels on 7 February. They are due to assess the situation and establish whether Jordan intends to put forward a replacement or if another country could propose another acceptable candidate. (F.B./transl.fl)