Brussels, 13/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - As pointed out yesterday, the French president was to present, on Thursday 13 March, a watered down version of the Union for the Mediterranean (EUROPE 9621). The text forwarded to delegations on the eve of the European Council read as follows (unofficial translation):
“The Union for the Mediterranean aims to open a new stage in cooperation in the Mediterranean, giving fresh impetus to the process initiated in Barcelona in 1995. With this aim in mind, the states taking part in the process have decided to establish the Union for the Mediterranean among themselves and on an equal footing. The Union for the Mediterranean will aim, in addition to existing cooperation in the four chapters, to strengthen the bond between its participants through the development of new projects of a regional dimension.
1. Structures
The Union for the Mediterranean will comprise a co-presidency, held jointly for a two-year period by a non-EU member state and an EU member state (it is agreed that, initially, all EU Mediterranean rim countries will hold co-presidency in turn and that, after this period, a further decision will be taken). The co-presidency will be entrusted with the task of preparing summits, to be held every two years, and ministerial meetings.
The co-presidency will be assisted in its task by a small secretariat. The secretariat will be composed of some 20 people coming from UFM member states as well as from the general secretariat of the Council of the European Union and of the European Commission for the European Union. It will be jointly headed by two directors. One of these directors will represent the non-EU member states, and the other will be appointed by the Council of the European Union at a joint proposal from the European Commission and the Secretary General/High Representative of the European Union. The two directors will be appointed for a two-year term of office, renewable once only. The role of the secretariat compared to the existing dialogue structures of the current Barcelona process remains to be defined in discussions within the European Union and with the non-EU members participating in the current Barcelona process.
2. The new projects
The UFM is aimed at promoting cooperation of a regional dimension so as to develop solidarity between UFM member nations. Both directors of the secretariat will take part in meetings of the Barcelona process which will be entitled Union for the Mediterranean. In the context of these meetings, the two directors and their secretariat will have the role of providing impetus in order to define new projects and to ensure that projects underway are followed through.
The regular, sectoral, ministerial meetings of the current Barcelona process will provide the occasion to present the state of development of various projects.
Projects will be funded according to the specific merits and characteristics of each project. In line with procedures in force, funds earmarked for regional cooperation in the current Barcelona process may be used as will other funds, including private funding, in addition to and outside the EU budget.
The summit on 13 July, which is to bring together the 27 members of the European Union, the European Commission and the non-EU Mediterranean rim states, will be an occasion to adopt a political text and to launch new projects with emphasis on regional cooperation”.