The 15th Plenary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (PA-UfM) took place in Strasbourg on the 13th and 14th February. The annual gathering of the 280 members of the Parliamentary Assembly, that marks the end of the European Parliament’s Presidency of the Bureau, focused its debates on the important topic of “the challenges of migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean”.
European Parliament’s President Antonio Tajani, as well as EU Commissioner for Migrations Dimitris Avramopoulos, reiterated the importance of a global joint approach at an Euro-Mediterranean level to positively address this common challenge. They reaffirmed the relevance of the PA-UfM as a regional platform for dialogue between parliamentarians of all UfM countries, where common grounds can be found and joint strategies forged.
UfM Secretary General, Ambassador Nasser Kamel, presented the Parliamentary Assembly with an overview of the activities, initiatives and projects developed and supported by the UfM, recalling members on the importance to develop cohesive and comprehensive policies that focus on the root-causes of instability, inequality and underdevelopment.
The Secretary General recalled that “Migration” is an important part of the political dialogue within the framework of the UfM, as referred by the “UfM Roadmap for Action” endorsed by Ministers of Foreign Affairs in January 2017, and that the UfM is continuously involved in relevant migration-related initiatives in the region in order to ensure the substantial and tangible contribution of the UfM activities to addressing this challenge, notably by focusing on its root-causes.
The Union for the Mediterranean’s mission is to enhance regional cooperation, dialogue and the implementation of projects and initiatives with tangible impact on our citizens, with an emphasis on young people and women, in order to address the three strategic objectives of the region: stability, human development and integration. Regional dialogue and cooperation are key elements for Regional Security.