Brussels, 25/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - The committee of senior officials of the 43 member states of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) is to meet on Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 February in Brussels, in order to take stock of and give impetus to Euro-Mediterranean dialogue. The context, however, is not considered propitious and the participants at the meeting will proceed to an examination of the political situation in the region (Syria, Mali, etc.)
Despite this context, it is hoped that a course will be set on the aspects that are the least dependent upon the economic situation and on the need to structure dialogue so that it comes less under the influence of the political fluctuations of the Mediterranean region and of the neighbouring Sahel-Sahara region. Fathallah Sijilmassi recently stated that 2012 was the year for institutional consolidation and clarification. He hopes to make 2013 the year for implementing structures and projects.
Fourteen such projects are currently on the table and some have even reached such an advanced stage that they may be completed by the end of the year. These projects include the trans-Maghreb motorway and the desalination plant in Gaza. In the meantime, consultation is underway in order to organise the world of finance for these joint, UfM-labelled projects.
The other major subject to be discussed at the meeting will be the architecture of the UfM. The secretariat-general, based in Barcelona, is now up and running after having been on the back burner until early 2012. The clean-up operation carried out by the current secretary general seems to be bearing fruit, and experts were recruited during the last quarter of the year.
There will be an item on the agenda for the senior officials that has never been discussed so far. This relates to the renewal of six deputy secretaries-general whose terms of office are about to expire. The decision is a political one and falls more on the senior officials than on the secretary general, as there must be an agreement on the breakdown of seats per member nation. Until now, the three European posts have been held by Italy, Greece and Malta. A number of commentators apparently feel it would be useful to have at least one country from northern Europe involved, in this case Germany, which has been very interested from the outset in Euro-Mediterranean dialogue. For the southern part, the three posts are held by the tandem - considered irreplaceable - of Israel and Palestine plus Turkey. It would be difficult to imagine any change, but a change of persons and not of countries could be among the solutions envisaged.
The secretariat general, which will only be responsible for drawing up the profiles sought for the new candidates, would no doubt be pleased to see the arrival of people who are more technical or financial experts rather than diplomats and politicians. (FB/transl.jl)