Brussels 09/07/08: A preparatory meeting organised by the Euromed Non-Governmental Platform took place in Casablanca, Morocco, on the 4-5 July. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the new European Commission proposal entitled “Barcelona process: Union for the Mediterranean”, that will be debated at the summit of heads of state on the 13 July in Paris, but also to prepare the structure of the Euromed Civil Forum 2008 to be held in Marseille 31 October-2 November.

The proposal for a Union for the Mediterranean originated from a French initiative that was created in order to get more focus on the Mediterranean region. The main features of the proposal are the strengthening of the partnership approach, with a co-governance of the presidency, and the creation of a secretariat which would be in charge of the programming and implementation of the regional projects, of which the majority are concerned with infrastructure. The meeting further debated the role of civil society in this new Euromed context and came up with a list of recommendations to be presented to the heads of state on the 13 July.

Click here to read the recommendations