Brussels, 14/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - A Euro-Mediterranean social summit will take place in Turkey from 16 to 18 November. It will bring together all the Economic and Social Councils (ESCs) and similar organisations in the Euro-Mediterranean area (European Economic and Social Committee - EESC - plus the ESCs of EU member states and of the Mediterranean rim), trade union, employers' and employees' organisations and social NGOs. Similar “summits” have been held annually since the launch of the Barcelona Process in November 1995.
Assessment of the social situation in the various countries of the region will take place, this year, against a background of upheaval in the region, and a debate is planned on the opportunities presented by the change. The role that EU Mediterranean policy and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) can play in support of developments will be discussed.
Among those scheduled to take part in the summit are: EESC President Sandy Boyle, Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Commissioner Stefan Füle, European Parliament Vice-President Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou, EU Special Envoy for the Southern Mediterranean Bernardino Leon, Committee of the Regions President Mercedes Bresso and Chairman of the EESC Euromed Follow-up Committee Dimitris Dimitriadis. (FB/transl.rt)