Since the beginning of the EuroMeSCo project’s implementation, the pairing consultations have proved to be an important milestone to connect EuroMeSCo’s annual research plan with relevant policy issues, events, trends and priorities.

Seven EuroMeSCo experts are currently carrying out this year's pairing consultations. They will reach out to almost 100 policy makers to gather first-hand information about policy issues on the agenda for 2023. This will help calibrate the EuroMeSCo annual research programme, and in particular the topics of this year's Joint Study Groups.

There are several rounds of consultations, each led by one expert from the network. Rabha Allam (ACPSS), Oskar Chmiel (CASE), Alia Fakhry (DGAP), Carmen Geha (ARI), Hila Levi (Leonard Davis Institute), Chiara Lovotti (ISPI) and Mattia Serra (ISPI) have been conducting these consultations this year, with the support of the EuroMeSCo team. The consultations are articulated along the thematic priorities of the project (migration, economic development and security) and involve interviews with counterparts from the European Commission, the European External Action Service, the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean and government officials from Southern Mediterranean countries.