Regional Cooperation Neighbourhood South

On 14-16 May, the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) held the Mediterranean Green Week event, co-hosted by the OECD regional centre in Istanbul, Türkiye. This three-day event was organised in a cross-sectoral manner, and in line with the proposals of the EU and Jordan as UfM co-chairs, combined the annual meetings of the UfM regional platforms on Energy, and Environment & Climate Action.

On 15 May, the meeting took place in Barcelona and gathered relevant stakeholders to discuss the topics most relevant to advancing mutually beneficial partnerships promoting sustainable trade and investment.

The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the Anna Lindh Foundation (ALF) Spring meetings took place jointly on 21 May, at a very critical moment for the relations of the EU with the Southern Neighbourhood region.

DG NEAR and the EU delegation to Jordan participated on 14-15 May in Amman to the launch of GTEX/MENATEX phase II. The programme is financed by Sweden (SIDA) and Switzerland (SECO) and implemented by the International Trade Centre (ITC). It supports Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia as well as Sri Lanka to stay on top of emerging market requirements for the textiles and clothing (T&C) sector by moving towards greener practices and being able to adhere to strict forthcoming EU regulations for T&C products sold in Europe.

On 16-17 May, the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) organised the Annual Conference of EuroMeSCo, a regional network of more than 110 think tanks and research institutes across Europe and the Southern Neighbourhood. Prospects for maritime security, migration, and economic interdependence in the Mediterranean were the main themes of this two-day event gathering officials from EU institutions (mainly the European Commission and the European External Action Service), researchers, civil society representatives and think tankers.

In the framework of the new regional programme on Green and Circular Economy (Green Forward), DG NEAR took part, on 13 May, in the strategic kick off meeting in Jordan with representatives from the Government and the private sector in the region. This fruitful exchange was organised by Expertise France, the implementer of the Green Forward policy component.

In the framework of the regional South Programme V, a regional workshop on “The role of anti-corruption agencies to enhance business integrity and compliance in the private sector” was organised in Amman, Jordan, in April.