Members of parliament from the Euro-Mediterranean region called, Friday in Rabat, for a renewed joint commitment to peace, stability and prosperity in the Euro-Mediterranean region to fulfill the aspirations of its people.
During the opening of the 17th session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (PA-UfM), the MPs stressed the importance of renewing this commitment, which would involve promoting collective action to address the region’s challenges.
The President of the Congress of Deputies of the Kingdom of Spain and Vice-President of the PA-UfM, Francina Armengol, pointed out key challenges such as establishing peace in the Middle East and adopting more flexible management of migratory flows to ensure legal and safe migration that respects human rights.
Armengol also emphasized the necessity of addressing the root causes of human migration, including climate change, violence, discrimination, water and food scarcity, and limited opportunities for a better life. She highlighted
the UfM’s role as a crucial institution with significant symbolic value, dedicated to promoting cooperation and development in the region.
Marc Angel, Vice-President of the European Parliament and Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (PA-UfM), acknowledged that “we are living in complex times in which many of the benchmarks of the international order are being weakened or called into question,” adding that Euro-Mediterranean integration, as an ambitious and necessary tool, is thus being put to the test.
According to him, “numerous outbreaks of war and unresolved conflicts threaten to distance us from the essential and desirable prospect of a genuine political and economic partnership uniting the two shores of the Mediterranean.”
“The UfM, our Parliamentary Assembly, but also other regional forums can and must play an important role in promoting peace,” he argued, noting that “by working closely together with our international partners, we must work to establish a
climate conducive to peace and stability in the region”. He urged to “reinvigorate the Euro-Mediterranean integration process”, calling on both sides of the Mediterranean to invest more politically in this process.
For his part, Mohamed Abou El Enein, Deputy Speaker of the Egyptian House of Representatives and Vice-President of the PA-UfM, said that the economic and social challenges and global transformations require greater solidarity and deeper complementarity in areas of common interest. He proposed the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean financial institution that will manage projects, market and finance commercial investment opportunities, particularly infrastructure projects, similar to the successful regional integration experiences in the European Union.
He also called for the challenge of climate change to be turned into an opportunity to encourage more investment in renewable energies and green hydrogen, and for electricity networks to be linked up and a regional electricity market created to take
advantage of the enormous potential of the countries of the south in this area, in addition to expanding the Euro-Mediterranean partnership towards Africa and the Arab Gulf.
Kamal El Mahdaoui, the Senior Political Advisor of the Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, acknowledged the Assembly’s meeting in a challenging context due to the crisis in Gaza. He highlighted that the events of 2023 had brought peace and stability issues back to the forefront of the agenda, stressing the importance of preserving the achievements of the Euro-Mediterranean region.
In this context, he pointed out that the landscape of a new Mediterranean “are taking shape before our eyes and invite us all to mobilise more to take advantage of the benefits of cooperation and ensure a better future for our Euro-Mediterranean area”, underscoring in this sense the urgent need for a lasting ceasefire to protect innocent lives.
The stability and security agenda remains a priority, so as not to relegate the many expectations
of the Mediterranean to second place, he pointed out, adding that the path to a better Mediterranean “must drive our collective efforts and our joint actions to ensure a better future for future generations”.
Several important topics were discussed, highlighting the urgency and significance of working together more closely. These included youth, employment, investment, training, higher education, climate and energy matters, and the digitalization of the economy.
Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse