European Union and the Mediterranean: towards integration

The three-year UNIMED Business Network project, managed by UNICE and supported by the European Commission in the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, reached its close at a conference held on March 11 in Rome organised by Confindustria.

FOI deputy president Adrian Bajada, FOI director general Edwin Calleja and MBB director Leonard Mizzi represented the FOI at this conference, which was entitled "European Union and the Mediterranean: towards integration".

Following the conference's opening session, two parallel working groups focused on how to reinforce economic integration in the Euro-Mediterranean region; and the human and cultural dimension of integration in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

Groups discussed and approved conclusions which highlighted the need to:

- make progress in economic and trade integration between south Mediterranean partners;

- facilitate investments in infrastructure networks in the Euro-Mediterranean region;

- increase co-operation on education and training issues; and

- develop a new immigration policy based on an in-depth analysis of companies' needs.

Mr Bajada represented the FOI president at the Assembly of UMCE held simultaneously with the conference.

The meeting considered the recruitment of the organisation's secretary general, the premises offered by the Tunisian government and the setting up of three main committees that will be studying Economic Integration; Institutional Capacity Building; and Upgrading of SMEs; which formed part of the Strategic Plan on which the FOI will be taking an active part.

Mr Bajada and FOI HR & Social Policy Working Group member Joe Montebello will be representing the FOI on all three committees.

At the conclusion of these events, UNICE and UMCE (the Union of Mediterranean Confederations of Enterprises) agreed to continue working together to move the Euro-Mediterranean partnership to a new dimension of co-operation, and to pursue the useful collaboration developed in the framework of the UNIMED BN programme during its three years of existence.