2nd Forum of Mediterranean Local and Regional Authorities meets ahead of UfM Summit

The Forum of Local and Regional Mediterranean Authorities is the context we have created so that Mediterranean regional governments, jointly with our umbrella group of networks and associations, can communicate our requirements to those institutions and organisms which play a role in the area's development, as well as increase the involvement of regional governments in the construction of a more balanced and prosperous region. This meeting should allow us to directly share different perspectives in anticipation of the Second Summit of Heads of State and Government to be held in Barcelona this June; to establish contact with the new Secretary General for the UfM; and to progress in the construction of a regional Mediterranean agenda which will guide the Forum's future demands and actions.

The 2nd Forum of Local and Regional Authorities of the Mediterranean is taking place on 2 and 3 May in Barcelona to ensure the contribution of the territorial authorities to the construction of a better balanced, more prosperous Euro-Mediterranean area.

A Spanish Presidency announcement said the meeting should allow local and regional authorities directly to share different perspectives in anticipation of the Second Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Summit of Heads of State and Government to be held in Barcelona this June, to establish contact with the new Secretary General of the UfM, and to progress in the construction of a regional Mediterranean agenda which will guide the Forum's future demands and actions.

The 1st Forum, held in Marseille in June 2008, on the eve of the Summit of Heads of State and Government that launched the "Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean", brought to the fore the interest of the territorial authorities in the initiative and highlighted their desire to actively contribute to Mediterranean cooperation. The recent establishment of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM), as an institutional forum for the participation of the territorial authorities in the dynamics of such Euro-Mediterranean relations, represented a significant advance in satisfying the demand for a greater territorial presence in the programmes led by the Union for the Mediterranean.

The second Forum of Local and Regional Authorities of the Mediterranean is organised by the Barcelona City Council, the Barcelona County Council, the Catalonia Regional Government and the Mediterranean Commission of the CGLU (United Cities and Local Governments).