In the presence of European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy Johannes Hahn, the foreign affairs ministers of the ten Mediterranean countries (Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Malta and Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania) underlined the importance of young people on 21 January.
Meeting in Algiers for the 14th meeting of foreign affairs ministers of the member countries of the 5+5 Western Mediterranean dialogue, they hailed Rabat's initiative of organising the first 5+5 ministerial dialogue on young people, which is reported to have the objective of agreeing on a 'Regional Agenda for Youth'.
"We should highlight youth, because there is an enormous unemployment rate among young people. We have a very young population and a mismatch between the economy, on the one side, and young people's skills and qualifications, on the other. We need to be concerned with this issue", the commissioner said in a statement on EbS television. He said he considered the EU to be an actor because it was a "big payer". "This also counts in this part of the world", he said.
According to Hahn, the ministers underlined the importance of cooperation between the two shores of the Mediterranean in order to boost the economy. "Without a well-functioning economy, we will not have stability", he stated. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)