Brussels, 11/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - The Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) is meeting for its annual plenary session in Antalya (Turkey) on 14-15 December in a new context marked by the announced recast of the European Neighbourhood Policy, say ARLEM's co-leaders Michel Lebrun, President of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), and Ali Abdel-Rahman, Governor of Giza (Egypt). They state that the EU must “continue to be the main strategic partner for the countries in the south and east of the Mediterranean”.
The local regions and authorities intend to weigh up the current choices in the review of the European approach so as to highlight the cooperation between them on both sides of the Mediterranean and to mobilise the means for it. ARLEM is already calling for “territorial cooperation tools to be strengthened, such as the macro-regional strategies, which offer opportunities for cross-border cooperation between the regions in and outside the EU”.
According to its co-leaders, ARLEM intends to debate a report from the mayor of Lisbon, Antonio Costa (PES, Portugal), on the role of local and regional authorities in the management of migration in the Mediterranean. Another report on the environment will be submitted to the plenary session that has been written under the responsibility of the president of the regional council of Taza-Al Hoceima-Taounate (Morocco), Mohamed Boudra. The plenary will also discuss an urban programme for the Mediterranean, which has the objective of “strengthening the institutional and administrative capacities of cities and regions in urban governance” (our translation throughout). (FB)