ARLEM: local authorities seek observer status in UfM

The Euro-Mediterranean Assembly of Local and Regional Authorities (ARLEM), meeting in Barcelona ahead of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Summit due to take place on 7 June, has urged heads of government to grant ARLEM observer status in the UfM process.    

A press release said the meeting was the occasion for an exchange of views with Ahmad Masa'deh, Secretary-General of the UfM, with the aim of discussing a political declaration to be adopted ahead of the UfM Summit.

The Declaration adopted insisted on the possibility that "the UfM should associate ARLEM to the Partnership, in line with the declaration of the Marseille Ministerial Meeting of 3-4 November 2008". It also reiterated ARLEM's willingness "to continue to support the activities and the aims of the UfM and to contribute to the construction of a strengthened Euro-Mediterranean governance."

Masa'deh underlined the important role of local authorities in Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, and saluted the work carried out by ARLEM as their institutional representative.

Members of the ARLEM Bureau said the body would work towards drafting recommendations for the local management of water resources, concentrating their efforts on concrete projects.

ARLEM is a consultative assembly, which aims at bringing a regional and local dimension to the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. It gathers 84 members from the EU and its 16 Mediterranean partners who are representatives of regions and local bodies holding a regional or local authority mandate. The inaugural ARLEM meeting took place on 21 January 2010 at the Pedralbes Palace in Barcelona, Spain.