Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean wants closer cooperation

NordenBladet — Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend the Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) in Barcelona on Monday 29 November. A foreign ministerial meeting of the European Union and Southern Neighbourhood will be held on the same day.The purpose of the meeting is to intensify Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, to strengthen mutual trust through political dialogue between the EU and its Southern Neighbourhood countries, as well as to find ways to respond to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. A concrete objective is to speed up the adoption of so-called partnerships, which form a foundation for joint projects between the EU and countries of the Southern Neighbourhood can be launched.“It is important for Finland to adhere to the EU’s value base, strengthen the participation of women and youth, and promote environmental protection and action against climate change,” says Minister for Foreign Affairs Haavisto.In their discussions, EU ministers will focus on efforts to speed up the handling of partnership agreements and on reminding each other of the agreed partnership priorities. The priorities define the political framework for cooperation that guides individual partnership negotiations and sets the preconditions for the funding paid by the EU. Different EU countries have different interests: for the southern Member States, the new policy offers an opportunity to generate economic and social stability, including jobs, especially in North African countries.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi