Union for the Mediterranean

The Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean was created by the 43 Euro-Mediterranean Heads of State and Government in Paris on 13 July 2008. Foreign Affairs Ministers in their meeting in Marseille on 4 November 2008 decided that the headquarters of the Secretariat would be in Barcelona. The Statutes of the Secretariat were adopted on the 3 March 2010 by the Senior Officials of the Member States of the UfM. A headquarters agreement was concluded between the UfMS and the Government of Spain on 4 May 2010, granting the Secretariat the privileges and inmmunities of an international organisation under the Spanish law.

The Union for the Mediterranean is a multilateral partnership with a view to increasing the potential for regional integration and cohesion among Euro-Mediterranean partners. The Union for the Mediterranean is inspired by the shared political will to revitalize efforts to transform the Mediterranean into an area of peace, democracy, cooperation and prosperity. The creation of a joint secretariat is a key stone in this partnership. The Secretariat will contribute to reinforcing co ownership of new Mediterranean relations and achieving visibility through economic projects.

The mandate and missions of the Secretariat have been defined in the Paris and Marseille Declarations as well as in the Statutes adopted on 3 March 2010. It is recalled that the mandate of the UfM Secretariat is of a technical nature, focusing on identifying, processing, promoting and coordinating projects, which are in line with the principles and rules of international law, which enhance and strengthen the cooperation and impact directly on the livelihoods of citizens.

As stated in the Paris and Marseille Declarations, the central mission of the UfMS is to increase, promote and ensure the coordination of regional, sub-regional and transnational UfM projects in order to improve the socio-economic development, regional integration, sustainable development and the exchange of knowledge among and within the countries of the UfM.

It is also recalled that in launching the UfM, the Heads of State and Government identified six priority areas. These are the following:

• De-pollution of the Mediterranean
• Maritime and land highways
• Civil protection
• Alternative energies: Mediterranean solar plan
• Higher education and research, Euro-Mediterranean University
• The Mediterranean Business Initiative

The UfMS will focused its activity in 2011 on the priority tasks and projects described below. In accordance with the Marseille Declaration, in submitting project proposals the Secretariat shall uphold the principle of sustainable development and also ensure that every project must:

• Strive to contribute to the stability and peace in the whole Euro-Mediterranean region
• Maintain the legitimate interests of any member of the UfM
• Take into account the principle of variable geometry
• Respect the decision of member countries involved in an ongoing project when it is subject to further development

Please find more information at:

http://www.ufmsecretariat.org/en/

Please find also the special report by Revolve on WATER in association with the Union for the Mediterranean:

http://issuu.com/revolve-magazine/docs/water-mediterranean

In addition to the synergies developed with the ERA-Wide and BILAT projects, MIRA is always open to new collaborations within the Mediterranean research and innovation space. Some of these collaborations activities are:

- Networking of MIRA with EUMEDGRID, agreement of a MoU and organization of a Joint Training Activity.

EUMEDGRID - "Empowering Research & Education across the Mediterranean: the Role of e-Infrastructures".

- Coordination with INCONTACT and the Med NCP.

- MIRA-ERA.Net ARIMNET Joint activity on follow up of the MIRA FAB Workshop

- Networking and common actions of MIRA with the Egypt RDI Project