The Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, confirmed on Thursday 12 November that the Commission is preparing its new strategy on the Southern Neighbourhood for the first quarter of 2021 with the aim of taking the partnership to the next level (see EUROPE 12563/25).
“In the coming months, we will work hard to prepare our new strategy for the Southern Neighbourhood. We will need to build on our successes, take advantage of opportunities and set priorities that can not only deliver but also demonstrate their added value on the ground”, he explained in a speech at the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) trade and investment forum. He believes that this is how the partnership can be taken to the next level.
The Commissioner wants to work with the UfM’s partner countries to “create a new era of opportunity”.
Pending this new partnership, the Commissioner called for both sides of the Mediterranean to remain united and to show “creativity to strengthen our resilience and build our prosperity, especially in the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic”.
According to Mr Várhelyi, the Commission would like to focus on untapped market potential (see EUROPE 12599/24). “We need to invest in a sustainable future, in the dual green and digital transition, which can unlock sectors with potential”, he added, also emphasising job creation.
“We also want to work closely with our Member States to draw on their own expertise and experience in the region to develop comprehensive initiatives that place employment at the centre of a sustainable and inclusive recovery”, he announced, welcoming the German proposal to promote joint efforts to create jobs through trade and investment in the Southern Neighbourhood and to prepare joint initiatives. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)