The foreign ministers of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) agreed on Thursday 24 November, at the 7th UfM Regional Forum, on “the need to further intensify regional cooperation and integration to address high unemployment rates, the climate emergency and unbalanced growth in a disintegrated region”.
“We share hopes, challenges - a lot of challenges - concerns and also some opportunities that we could use better together”, summarised the High Representative of the Union, Josep Borrell.
He warned that efforts must be stepped up to “close the gap” between the two shores, but also between the countries of the southern shore. “We need more connectivity, both in terms of infrastructure and regulation”, said Mr Borrell, also citing human mobility and energy cooperation. “We need to increase our commitments, but above all we need to develop them more quickly”, he added.
According to the High Representative, the EU’s focus on Ukraine is not at the expense of its commitment to its southern, Mediterranean partners.
As evidence of this, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares announced that the Mediterranean agenda will be at the heart of his country’s Presidency of the EU Council and that a summit of the region’s leaders will be organised during this time. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)