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Euro-Mediterranean Summit to agree
on an ambitious 5-year work programme; President Barroso
to attend
For the first time ever since the
Barcelona Declaration in 1995, Euro-Mediterranean Heads
of State and Government will meet to mark the tenth
anniversary of the Partnership. At this historic Summit,
they are expected to announce a Declaration on a Common
Vision and decide on a 5-year work programme that aims
both at reinforcing relations and meeting the tough
challenges that lie ahead for the region. Returning to
the city of its birth, European and Mediterranean
partners, together with Commission President Barroso and
Commissioner for External Relations and Neighbourhood
Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, will gather in Barcelona
on 27 and 28 November, to agree on an ambitious agenda
of revitalisation and reform. The proposed work
programme includes far-reaching proposals for addressing
challenges such as terrorism, political and economic
reform and migration. Along with the 5-year work
programme and Declaration the Summit will also present–
a Code of Conduct to Counter Terrorism.
Before his departure for Barcelona,
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso
reiterated the Commission’s determination to forge even
closer alliances with Mediterranean partners and work
towards bringing the partnership closer to the people:
“We have the institutions, the
mechanisms and the determination to fulfil the promises
of the Barcelona declaration of ten years ago. Our
Summit now will aim to put the Partnership on a sounder
and stronger footing, and taking courageous decisions to
meet the challenges we face as we enter a new phase of
its existence.”
Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner said: “Barcelona is now a
mature partnership that can deliver real benefits with
an impact on people's lives. I hope that the commitments
that we enter into at the Summit - on education, job
creation, trade, better governance, migration, and
terrorism - will help bring a safer, more stable and
more prosperous region for us all to live in."
At the Summit, President Barroso will
underline the Commission priorities for the region over
the coming years:
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To advance democracy and human
rights in the region through stronger political
dialogue and cooperation, including the setting up
of a “governance facility”.
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To open and expand economic
opportunities and assist in the creation of jobs,
particularly through the completion of the free
Trade Area by 2010, and to extend free trade to
include agriculture and services.
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To tackle immigration focussing
on a more strategic approach that aims to optimise
the benefits of migration for all partners, and
prevent the toll of human tragedies in the
Mediterranean emanating from attempts to enter the
EU illegally.
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To facilitate access to basic
education for all, and cooperate with partner
countries to enhance the quality of education.
The Summit comes against a background
of increased terrorist activity on both sides of the
Mediterranean, a series of migration-related human
tragedies and significant civil/ethnic unrest in parts
of Europe. This upgraded meeting – normally it is the
partners’ foreign ministers who meet on a biannual basis
– underlines the determination to tackle politically
sensitive issues and to work together towards their
resolution.
The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership
(Barcelona process) at its inception ten years ago was
an innovative alliance based on the principles of joint
ownership, evolution by dialogue and consensus and
cooperation. It has since been driven by a common
political will to build together a common space of
peace, security and shared prosperity. As the
Partnership celebrates this anniversary milestone and
prepares to enter its second decade, it is significantly
reinforced and complemented by the European
Neighbourhood Policy. This will allow further progress
between countries willing to agree on concrete
commitments and benchmarks.
Additional information on the Euro-Mediterranean
Partnership at
http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/euromed/index.htm
Summit agenda and side events at
http://www.euromedbarcelona.org
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