Representatives of 22 countries of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) met at the 16th Regional Platform on Employment and Labour. They shared best practices on youth employment and women economic empowerment and stressed the importance of a continuous dialogue given the ongoing effects of the Middle East developments on the labour market.

The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) held its 16th Meeting of the Regional Platform on Employment and Labour on 16 and 17 April in Zagreb.

There was a high number of UfM Member States represented (22 in total, including 10 EU Member States, 12 Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries).

The UfM Regional Platform meeting focused on Youth Employment, Women Economic Empowerment and the state-of-play of the implementation of the 2022 UfM Marrakech Ministerial Declaration.

The UfM Co-Presidency, chaired by the Directorate-General Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the European Commission and Jordan, acknowledged the spillover effects of the ongoing Middle East developments on the labour market and stressed the importance of a continuous dialogue.

Highlights

Mr Ivan Vidiš, State Secretary, Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy of Croatia started the meeting with a keynote speech. He was followed by a presentation on the implementation of the priorities of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU.

Discussions then focused on Youth Employment and Women Economic Empowerment: in this regards the Greek Non-Profit Organisation, Women Do Business, was invited to present its work on female entrepreneurship.

The afternoon of the first day included field visits to a Career Information and Counseling Center and the Algebra University College.

The second day was dedicated to debriefing on the field visits and to the implementation of the Marrakech Ministerial Declaration.

UfM Member States and Social Partners shared best practices to build meaningful complementarities. Best practices showcased included, among others:

• Morocco’s tool for youth employment in rural area’s
• Italy's new approach to migration, skills development, and labour mobility.

As regards the UfM monitoring exercise, the data collection phase has started and the voluntary UfM Member States will start collecting the necessary data in order to have an overview report ready for the next Ministerial.

Background

Twice a year, the UfM Regional Platform on Employment and Labour brings together representatives from employment and labour ministries and agencies of the UfM Member States as well as representatives from European institutions/agencies and international organisations to discuss the current realities and follow up on the implementation of relevant Ministerial Declarations.