Final Declaration of the "Union for the Mediterranean ministerial conference"

On 3 and 4 November 2008 Marseille (France) hosted the ministerial conference of the member countries of the "Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean".

The ministerial conference, which brought together the foreign ministers from the member countries of the Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean, took place in Marseille on 3 and 4 November and aimed at working towards implementing the ambition for a strengthened partnership around the Mediterranean renewed by the Heads of State or Government at the Paris summit on 13 July.
Joint Declaration of the Paris Summit for the Mediterranean - Paris, 13 July 2008 (FR-EN-AR)

The three main items on the agenda were: reviewing the new concrete partnership projects and their implementation; clarifying the new governance introduced by the Union for the Mediterranean; and political dialogue on the regional situation.

Ministers adopted the 2009 work programme for the Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean (which they decided to call "Union for the Mediterranean") at the meeting. Sectoral meetings set to take place next year should fully reflect the emphasis placed on implementing concrete projects in the six areas identified at the 13 July summit, and projects of which the ministers will conduct an initial review.

Ministers decided that the League of Arab States shall participate in all meetings at all levels of the Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean, therefore contributing positively to the objectives of the process, namely the achievement of peace, prosperity and stability in the Mediterranean region. In addition, they reaffirmed their commitment to achieve a just, comprehensive, and lasting olution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, consistent with the terms of reference of the Madrid Conference and its principles, including land for peace, and based on the relevant UNSC resolutions and the Road Map. Ministers also stress the importance of the Arab Peace Initiative and underline their support for efforts to promote progress on all tracks of the Middle East Peace Process.

The seat of the Secretariat will be in Barcelona. A Headquarters Agreement between the host country and the Secretariat will ensure the autonomous status of the latter, its legal personality to carry out its activities and the status, privileges and immunities of the Secretariat and its international personnel. The Headquarters Agreement shall be concluded before May 2009.

On the matter of the governance of the Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean, Ministers decide to continue their consultations in line with the mandate given by Heads of State and Government at the Paris Summit. Ministers agree that delegations may submit their proposals to the French-Egyptian co-presidency, which undertakes to consult Heads of State and Government, notably on the modalities for the establishment of the Secretariat and the new name for the Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean.

Contact information	n/a
News type	Inbrief
File link	http://www.ue2008.fr/PFUE/lang/en/accueil/PFUE-11_2008/PFUE-03.11.2008/Euromed_affaires_etrangeres
File link local	Final_Statement_Marseille_04_Nov_2008_EN.pdf (application/force-download, 243 Kb)
Source of information	French Presidency of the EU Council
Keyword(s)	Mediterranean-Union, ENPI, Union for the Mediterranean, Union-for the-Mediterranean, Mediterranean Union
Subject(s)	POLICY-WATER POLICY AND WATER MANAGEMENT
Relation	http://www.semide.net/initiatives/mediterranean-union
Geographical coverage	EU, France, Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Palestine, Monaco, Spain, Italy, Greece, Malta, Cyprus
News date	04/11/2008
Working language(s)	ARABIC , ENGLISH , FRENCH

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