Eduardo González
The Foreign Ministers of the member states of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) will address the situation in Gaza and a new roadmap for the intergovernmental organization this coming Friday, November 28, in Barcelona.
The Catalan capital will host the 10th Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean on Friday, which, under the slogan “Together for a Stronger Euro-Mediterranean Partnership,” will bring together Foreign Ministers and representatives of civil society, local authorities, regional governments, and regional organizations to address “coordinated responses to shared priorities, from climate change and socioeconomic disparities to peace and security in the region,” according to the UfM.
The Forum also coincides with the thirtieth anniversary of the Barcelona Process, an initiative launched in 1995 to unite countries on both sides of the Mediterranean to strengthen ties and address common challenges in the cultural, economic, political, and environmental spheres. The Barcelona Process paved the way for the creation of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) in 2008.
According to a press release issued Monday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares will host the European and Mediterranean ministers participating in the 10th UfM Forum on Friday.
“This meeting will be another opportunity to strengthen the Euro-Arab dialogue, particularly regarding the situation in the Middle East,” the Ministry stated. “The Minister will advocate for continued efforts to consolidate peace and stability in close coordination with regional actors, based on the implementation of the two-state solution, the only path to peace,” it concluded.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this will be one of the main topics during the ministerial meeting, which will be co-chaired by Kaja Kallas, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, and Ayman Safadi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Jordan, in the presence of Nasser Kamel, Secretary-General of the UfM, and Dubravka Šuica, European Commissioner for the Mediterranean.
In addition, the ministers will adopt the document “The New Vision of the UfM,” a document to reform the organization, updating its strategic priorities and strengthening its institutional structure and capabilities. The aim of the text is to strengthen the UfM’s impact and capacity for greater regional coordination, ensuring the coherence of public policies in the region, as well as boosting the UfM’s role as a forum for structured regional dialogue.
On the sidelines of the Regional Forum, the new Pact for the Mediterranean will be launched, through which the EU strategically relaunches Euro-Mediterranean relations, and the new Headquarters Agreement between Spain and the Union for the Mediterranean will be signed. A welcome event will take place on Thursday at the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC). The Minister will also host a dinner for the member states on Thursday.
The Forum began last Saturday, November 22, at the Palau de Pedralbes with the Euro-Mediterranean Summit of Regions, which was attended by representatives of the 43 member states, the President of Catalonia, Salvador Illa; the Director-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf of the European Commission, Stefano Sannino; the Secretary-General of the UfM, Nasser Kamel; and the Spanish Secretary of State for the European Union, Fernando Sampedro. The Catalan Minister for European Union and Foreign Action, Jaume Duch, and the representative of the European Committee of the Regions and the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly, Maria-Antoinette Maupertius, met to discuss the matter. During the meeting, a Joint Declaration was presented to strengthen their role in shaping the future of the Mediterranean.
The ninth Regional Forum, held on October 28, 2024, in Barcelona, was boycotted by Israel for the second consecutive year and included the participation of Palestine for the first time since its recognition as a state by Spain.