Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the preparation of the Lisbon Euro-Mediterranean Foreign Affairs Conference (5-6 November 2007) - The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership: Advancing Regional Cooperation to support peace, progress and inter-cultural dialogue [SEC(2007) 1309]
Date: 2007-10-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Union for the Mediterranean, cultural policy, employment policy, energy policy, health policy, immigration, regional cooperation, terrorism, tourism, transport policy

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 17.10.2007 
COM(2007) 598 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

on the preparation of the Lisbon Euro-Mediterranean Foreign Affairs Conference  
(5-6 November 2007) 

The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership: Advancing Regional Cooperation to support 
peace, progress and inter-cultural dialogue 

[SEC(2007) 1309] 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

on the preparation of the Lisbon Euro-Mediterranean Foreign Affairs Conference  
(5-6 November 2007) 

The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership: Advancing Regional Cooperation to support 
peace, progress and inter-cultural dialogue 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

Despite the enduring conflict in the Middle East, the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership 
has  evolved  steadily  and  overseen  considerable  achievements  since  1995.  After 
almost twelve years the Barcelona Process has developed into a comprehensive and 
encompassing regional partnership. Common institutions and networks like the Anna 
Lindh  Foundation  for  the  dialogue  between  cultures,  the  Euro-Mediterranean 
Parliamentary Assembly, the FEMISE (network of economic research institutes) and 
EuroMesco (network of political science institutes) constitute significant assets of a 
partnership of 37 partner countries with more than 700 million citizens. However, in 
the  political  and  security  dialogue,  regional  conflicts  still  remain  an  impediment  to 
comprehensive progress in multilateral cooperation.  

On  its  establishment,  the  Euro-Mediterranean  Free  Trade  Area  will  be  one  of  the 
world’s largest free trade areas. The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership is a key feature 
in  the  European  Union’s  external  relations  with  neighbouring  countries.  All 
Mediterranean Partners consider the Barcelona Process to be the cornerstone of their 
collective relations with the EU. (Annex II summarises some of the more significant 
achievements of the Barcelona Process since its inception). 

In  November  2005  the  Barcelona  Summit  reaffirmed  the  objectives  of  the  1995 
Barcelona Declaration and adopted a 5-year work programme and a code of conduct 
on countering terrorism. In November 2006, at the Euro-Mediterranean Conference 
of Ministers of Foreign Affairs held in Tampere, Euro-Mediterranean partners agreed 
a document of common conclusions and adopted a work programme for 2007. This 
was  very  much  based  on  the  proposals  put  forward  in  the  Commission 
communication  issued  on  25  October  2006.  The  objective  of  the  present 
communication  is  to  prepare  the  next  ministerial  meeting  under  the  Portuguese 
Presidency, review the progress made in the implementation of the work programme 
agreed in Tampere, and put forward proposals for 2008. 

The  Commission  welcomes  recent  initiatives  on  reinforcing  relations  with  our 
Mediterranean Partners. Proposals concerning the creation of a Mediterranean Union 
have  the  potential  to  mobilise  renewed  political  will  in  Europe  and  in  the  South  of 
the  Mediterranean  for  a  stronger  partnership  between  Europe  and  the  Southern 
Mediterranean. The next Euro-Mediterranean Foreign Affairs Conference will be an 
excellent  opportunity  to  discuss  how  this  initiative  can  be  articulated  and  work  in 
synergy with the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership and the European Neighbourhood 
Policy. For the Commission it is essential that the European Union and the European 
institutions are fully involved in this collective effort.  

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5. 

2007 has been an active year in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. The work done 
in the three chapters (political dialogue, economic cooperation and the cultural  and 
human dimension) of cooperation has been remarkable. At the Tampere Ministerial 
Meeting  partners  agreed  on  21  concrete  initiatives  (see  Annex  III),  most  of  which 
have already been implemented or will be carried out before the end of 2007. Since 
the  adoption  of  the  Tampere  conclusions,  the  bilateral  policy  dialogue  conducted 
within  the  framework  of  the  European  Neighbourhood  Policy  has  continued  to 
contribute to fostering progress towards regional cooperation in many areas. Annex I 
summarizes  the  activities  of  the  Partnership  since  the  last  Euro-Mediterranean 
Ministerial conference held in Tampere and the work done in the main areas of the 
Euro-Mediterranean cooperation.  

PROPOSALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR 2008 

6. 

2008 will be an important year for the implementation of the priorities established at 
the  Barcelona  Summit.  Substantial  progress  is  expected  in  the  implementation  of  a 
number  of  initiatives  adopted  in  previous  years,  especially  the  implementation  of 
‘Horizon 2020' initiative on the de-pollution of the Mediterranean, as well as further 
actions in the programme adopted at the ministerial meeting on the role of women in 
society.  Also  in  2008,  Euro-Med  partners  will  launch  five  major  initiatives  to 
strengthen the partnership and to extend it to other areas. These initiatives are: 

•  The holding of a Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Meeting on culture;  

•  The holding of the first Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Meeting on employment 

and social affairs;  

•  The first Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Meeting on tourism.  

•  The Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Meeting on health. 

•  The  launching  of  a  partnership  between  the  Commission  and  Mediterranean 
country  administrations  to  foster  secondment  and  exchange  of  officials  and 
trainees. 

7. 

In addition to these initiatives, the partnership will continue its work in other areas of 
relevance, such as 

•  information  society,  with  the  holding  of  the  second  Euro-Med  Ministers 

Conference in this field,  

•  the holding of the annual FEMIP conference,  

•  the 4th Euro-Mediterranean ECOFIN Ministerial conference 

•  the Trade Ministers meetings, and  

•  the conference on Industrial cooperation.  

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•  towards  the  end  of  2008  there  will  take  place  the  meeting  of  Foreign  Affairs 

Ministers.  

New initiatives 

Enhancing the Anna Lindh Foundation and promoting intercultural dialogue 

8. 

9. 

10. 

A Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Meeting on culture and cultural dialogue in 2008 
will  be  an  important  event  that  is  intended  to  allow  partners  to  set  out  political 
guidelines  for  the  future  activities  of  the  Foundation.  The  Commission  proposes  to 
give  particular  visibility  to  this  meeting  with  events  in  Euro-Mediterranean  partner 
countries  to  promote  intercultural  dialogue  and  diversity  and  to  raise  the  profile  of 
the  Anna  Lindh  Foundation  as  a  bridge  between  Euro-Mediterranean  cultures, 
religions and beliefs. A Euro-Mediterranean ministerial meeting on cultural dialogue 
will be in line with the objectives of the decision by the European Parliament and the 
European Council to designate 2008 as the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 
(Decision of 18 December 2006). In synergy with this, the Commission proposes that 
Ministers  in  Lisbon  declare  2008  as  the  Euro-Mediterranean  year  of  Inter-cultural 
dialogue.  

The  Anna  Lindh  Foundation  for  the  dialogue  between  cultures  was  officially 
inaugurated in April 2005 in Alexandria. After an initial period of work during which 
the Foundation has established itself as the common Euro-Mediterranean institution 
dedicated to cultural dialogue, partners will consolidate the institution by approving 
new statutes and appointing a new leadership to be in place from April 2008.  

Audiovisual,  Cinema  as  well  as  promotion  of  the  cultural  heritage  are  excellent 
vehicles for intercultural dialogue between the Mediterranean countries and Europe. 
On  the  basis  of  the  results  of  the  Euromed  Audiovisual  programmes  and  with  the 
help  of  European  and  Mediterranean  experts,  a  new  strategy  to  enhance  the 
Mediterranean  audiovisual  sector  will  be  proposed  at  the  Euro-Mediterranean 
Ministerial meeting on Culture in 2008. In addition, a new Heritage Programme will 
be launched which is centred on the appropriation of the cultural heritage by the local 
population as well as on access to knowledge of the cultural heritage.  

A new partnership on tourism 

11. 

Tourism is one of the major economic sectors in the Mediterranean. In 2005, more 
than  50  million  tourist  arrivals  were  registered  in  Mediterranean  partner  countries, 
and, in most countries, between 50% and 80% of the arrivals were from EU Member 
States.  The  EU  and  Mediterranean  partner  countries  agreed  to  hold  a  ministerial 
meeting to be held in Morocco in response to the initiative from Morocco, Portugal 
and Slovenia. The Commission fully supports this initiative.  

Developing a more systematic approach to cooperation in the field of employment  

12. 

Employment  creation  and the modernisation of labour  markets are among  the most 
pressing  challenges  for 
the  Euro-Mediterranean  partner  countries.  Despite 
considerable national differences, all partners need to adapt to globalisation and to a 
rapidly  changing  economic  environment.  The  Euro-Med  meeting  of  Ministers  of 
Foreign  Affairs  at  Tampere  "welcomed  the  proposal  to  hold  in  2007  a  Euro-Med 

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13. 

workshop on employment policy and on practical measures to enhance employability 
of  job  seekers  and  create  decent  employment  opportunities".  The  workshop  will 
"pave the way for a Euro-Med Ministerial Conference on Employment to be held in 
2008",  and  will  bring  together  government  representatives,  social  partners,  and 
international organizations.  

The  preparatory  workshop  for  the  Euro-Med  Employment  Ministerial  Conference 
should  contribute  to:  (a)  Better  understanding  of  the  challenges  for  labour  markets 
and  employment  policies  in  the  context  of  globalisation  and  demographic  change, 
and  (b)  Taking  advantage  of  the  opportunities  offered  by  the  exchange  of 
experiences and best practices among the 37 partners. The Ministerial Conference on 
Employment  to  be  held  in  the  second  half  of  2008  should  envisage  concrete 
initiatives  and  proposals  to  promote  employment  creation,  the  modernization  of 
labour  markets,  and  decent  work.  The  gender  dimension  of  employment  policies 
should  be  a  horizontal  thematic  priority  of  the  Ministerial  Conference  and  of  its 
preparatory workshop. The objective would be to develop the social dimension of the 
Euro-Mediterranean Partnership through a more systematic approach to cooperation, 
in  line  with  the  Barcelona  Summit  objectives.  Social  partners  in  the  Euro-
Mediterranean  region  should  be  involved  in  the  preparation  of  the  conference, 
possibly  through  the  seminar  on  economic  employment  and  economic  change  in 
spring 2008. 

Towards enhanced cooperation on health issues 

14. 

The  conclusions  of  the  Tampere  Euro-Med  Foreign  Affairs  Ministers  Conference 
invited competent authorities to hold a Euro-Med workshop in 2007 on surveillance 
and control of communicable diseases. The workshop will lead to a senior officials 
meeting as a further preparatory step towards a Euro-Med Ministers Conference on 
Health.  

Enhancing the partnership building measures 

15. 

Euro-Med  partners,  in  a  document  that  aims  at  improving  the  working  methods  of 
the  Euro-Med  Partnership,  are  considering  the  possibility  of  inviting  seconded 
officials from the Med partners to support the work of the Council Secretariat. The 
European  Commission  has  a  long  experience  of  exchanging  officials  with  EU 
Member  States  and  with  other  institutions.  National  seconded  officials  from  EU 
Member States make a positive contribution to the human resources expertise of the 
Commission. As a complementary partnership building measure, the Commission is 
offering  to  establish  a  partnership  between  the  Commission  and  Mediterranean 
partner country administrations in the exchange of professional experience. The offer 
from the Commission would include  the secondment and exchange  of officials and 
trainees.  

CONTINUATION AND CONSOLIDATION OF EXISTING AREAS OF WORK 

Political and security dialogue 

16. 

The  Commission  is  a  strong  supporter  of  political  dialogue  at  Euro-Med  regional 
level.  The  Euro-Mediterranean  partnership  is  the  only  forum  within  which  all 

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Mediterranean  partners  exchange  views  and  engage  in  a  constructive  dialogue  in 
spite  of  the  persisting  conflict  in  the  Middle  East  and  in  other  parts  of  the  region. 
Political dialogue has become a regular item on the agenda of the Euro-Med senior 
officials meetings. The Commission welcomes the proposal made in relation to the 
improvement of working methods that, whenever necessary, the senior officials shall 
act  as  an  early  response  mechanism  to  propose  the  holding  of  ad  hoc  Foreign 
Ministers  conferences  in  response  to  developments  in  the  region.  For  its  part,  the 
Council  has  decided  to  offer  the  Mediterranean  (ENP)  partners  the  possibility  of 
aligning themselves, on a case-by-case basis, with EU declarations, and positions on 
CFSP issues.  

The Commission is convinced that the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly 
(EMPA)  is  a  major  asset  of  the  Partnership.  The  EMPA  allows  political 
representatives to discuss their points of view on the regional situation, the evolution 
of the Barcelona Process and the prospects of the European Neighbourhood Policy as 
regards the Mediterranean. The Commission will lend its full support to Greece, as 
the  next  Presidency  of  the  EMPA,  for  a  successful  Assembly  in  2008.  The 
Commission will also support the work of the EMPA committees in the run-up to the 
2008 Euro-Med Parliamentary Assembly.  

The Commission is confident that the useful discussions on the subject of elections at 
the  Euro-Med  senior  officials  meetings  in  2007  can  be  continued  at  experts’  level. 
The holding of a seminar at experts’ level should enable partners to engage in a more 
technical  exchange  of  views  in  order  to  envisage  practical  cooperation  in  this  area 
between willing partners. 

17. 

18. 

Code of Conduct on countering terrorism 

19. 

The Commission believes it is of paramount importance to further deepen practical 
steps  to  implement  the  jointly  agreed  Code  of  Conduct  on  countering  terrorism.  It 
therefore  proposes  to  concentrate  efforts  for  2008  on  technical  issues  such  as 
reinforcing the international co-operation in criminal matters and enhancing maritime 
security  measures  including  cargo  transport  units.  The  Commission  suggests  the 
holding  of  a  regional  Euromed  workshop  on  each  of  these  topics  with  the 
participation of relevant international bodies, agencies and experts.  

Towards a Euro-Mediterranean system of civil protection  

20. 

The rising trend in vulnerability to natural and manmade disasters in many parts of 
the Mediterranean confirms the need for greater safety and security measures to be in 
place to the benefit of its citizens. The Commission has over the past years funded 
the  EUROMED  Pilot  Project  (1998-2003)  and  the  EUROMED  Bridge  Programme 
for  the  Development  of  a  Euromed  system  for  the  reduction,  prevention  and 
management of natural and man-made disasters (2005-2008) to strengthen and build 
up  capacity  of  civil  protection  agencies  in  Mediterranean  partner  countries.  The 
Commission will continue to support this highly pertinent initiative with a new phase 
(2008-2010,  EUROMED  Programme  of  Prevention,  Reduction  and  management  of 
natural  and  manmade  Disasters)  that  should  benefit  from  improved  strategic 
approach  and  the  recommendations  put  forward  in  the  Mid-Term  evaluation  of  the 
Bridge Programme. 

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Ongoing work in services and agricultural trade 

21. 

Negotiations  on  services  and  the  right  of  establishment  have  seen  interest  and 
commitment expressed by most negotiating partners. Following the Lisbon meeting 
of Trade Ministers on 22 October, where discussions at regional level are due to be 
finalised, the Commission will launch bilateral negotiations with a number of willing 
Mediterranean partners. These negotiations on bilateral services and investment will 
start  at  the  beginning  of  2008  and  be  concluded  within  a  timeframe  that  should 
deliver substantial liberalisation of services and establishment by 2010.  

Negotiations  on  trade  liberalization  in  agriculture,  processed  agricultural  products 
and fisheries are progressing between Egypt, Israel and Morocco. Tunisia undertook 
to open negotiations before the end of 2007. Negotiations were concluded  between 
the  Commission  and  Jordan  in  2005  and  resulted  in  a  high  level  of  mutual 
liberalization.  Discussions  are  also  being  held  on  bilateral  agreements  on  mutual 
recognition and protection of geographical indications for agricultural products.  

Fisheries  

22. 

Cooperation between the Community and Mediterranean partners for the sustainable 
management  of  fisheries  resources  in  the  Mediterranean  will  be  intensified,  in 
particular within the relevant regional bodies (General Fisheries Commission for the 
Mediterranean  and  International  Commission  for  the  Conservation  of  Atlantic 
Tunas), in line with the Declaration of the Ministerial Conference for the Sustainable 
Development of Fishery in the Mediterranean held in Venice (November 2003). 

Maritime policy 

23. 

The  European  Commission  adopted  the  Communication  on  an  Integrated  Maritime 
Policy  for  the  European  Union  on  10  of  October  2007.  In  this  context,  the 
Commission  identifies  the  Mediterranean  as  a  key  region  in  respect  of  cooperation 
towards resource management and maritime governance on account of the common 
responsibility  over  the  seas,  which  Europe  shares  with  its  closest  neighbours.  The 
European  Neighbourhood  Policy  provides  a  framework  where  this  cooperation  can 
be effectively promoted to ensure coherence between EU action internally and action 
undertaken  by  our  neighbours.  Priority  areas  should  be  discussed  with  our 
Mediterranean  partners,  and  the  Commission  will  seek  to  launch  this  dialogue  at 
Ministerial level (cf. under section 6). 

Energy and transport 

24. 

the  Marrakech  Ministerial  conference  as  well  as 

the 
The  conclusions  of 
Communication  "Guidelines  for  transport  in  Wider  Europe",  recognises  that  the 
establishment  of  an  integrated,  safe  and  efficient  transport  system  in  the 
Mediterranean  area  is  key  for  the  development  of  stability  of  the  region  and  an 
increase in interregional trade. To take forward the implementation of such a system, 
it  is  proposed  to  hold  a  high  level  conference  (end  of  2007  or  beginning  2008)  on 
transport  which  will  focus  on  two  main  points:  presentation  of  the  Regional 
Transport  Action  Plan  and  steps  towards  implementation  of  its  actions  and  the 
extension of the trans-European transport network to Mediterranean region.  

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25. 

The  Experts'  Group  established  within  the  Euromed  Energy  Forum  will  meet  in 
Brussels on 16 October 2007 to have a discussion on the "Priority Action Programme 
for  Euro-Mediterranean  Energy  Cooperation"  for  the  forthcoming  period.  A 
Euromed  Energy  Ministerial  meeting  will  take  place  in  late  2007  or  early  2008  to 
adopt this priority programme. 

Horizon 2020 

26. 

27. 

Horizon  2020  relating  to  the  de-pollution  of  the  Mediterranean  will  continue  to 
implement the measures agreed under the timetable of actions approved at the third 
Euro-Mediterranean meeting of Environment Ministers in Cairo and put forward by 
the  first  meeting  of  the  Steering  Committee  in  June  2007.  The  European 
Environment  Agency  will  coordinate  with  relevant  partners  to  design  a  coherent 
indicator process and a framework for regular indicator-based analyses, including a 
“scorecard”  to  compare  and  measure  progress.  Appropriate  follow-up  to  the  EIB 
work will be organised to identify bankable projects of regional significance. 

During  the  2008  French  Presidency  of  the  European  Union,  a  Euro-Mediterranean 
ministerial  meeting  is  to  be  held  on  the  subject  of  water.  This  conference  will  be 
taking place almost ten years after the Euro-Mediterranean ministerial conference on 
local water management held in Turin in 1999 and five years after the launching of 
the Mediterranean component of the EU Water Initiative. It is due to address major 
policy issues related to water resources management, protection and services. 

Industrial Cooperation 

28. 

29. 

The  next  Euro-Mediterranean  ministerial  meeting  on  Industrial  Cooperation  is 
scheduled for October 2008. The meeting will take stock of progress achieved so far 
and define a work programme on industrial cooperation for 2009-2010. 

As regards policies related to the Information Society, it is foreseen to focus on the 
promotion  of  an  open  and  competitive  digital  economy  through  a  regulatory 
environment  for  electronic  communications  that  is  conducive  to  innovation, 
investment and competition. The cooperation scheme would include the development 
of  online  services  to  improve  social  inclusion,  public  services  such  as  education, 
health,  transports  and  quality  of  life.  Moreover  the  participation  of  Mediterranean 
countries to the ICT part of the 7th Framework Programme would be increased with 
projects of common interest. Recently two projects focusing on the mapping of ICT 
excellence  in  the  Mediterranean  Partner  Countries  have  been  launched  (MED-IST 
and  MAP-IT).  It  is  also  expected  that  EUMEDCONNECT,  one  of  the  EUMEDIS 
projects,  could  be  extended  in  the  near  future.  EUROMEDCONNECT  has  ensured 
the connection of research networks in the Mediterranean area and permitted to use it 
as  research  infrastructure  for  common  Information  Society  projects  of  the  EU 
Member  States  and  the  Mediterranean  countries.  All  these  new  initiatives  will  be 
discussed  during  the  Second  Euromed  Ministerial  Conference  on  the  Information 
Society organised in Egypt first part of year 2008. 

Ongoing work on statistics cooperation 

30. 

Reliable statistics are an important factor in decision making and technical assistance 
to  the  statistical  services  in  the  Mediterranean  partner  countries  is  being  provided 

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through  the  MEDSTAT  II  programme.  This  is  focused  on  improving  statistics  in  a 
number of key areas: Agriculture, Energy, Environment, External Trade, Migration, 
National Accounts, Social (especially employment), Tourism and Transport, as well 
as  general  training  in  statistics.  The  programme  will  run  until  the  end  of  2008.  In 
2008,  it  will  be  necessary  to  explore  available  mechanisms  to  allow  continued 
support  for  the  development  of  the  statistical  capacity  of  the  countries  beyond  that 
date, particularly in areas not treated so far, for example, services, health.  

Migration 

31. 

On 19 November 2007 Euro-Med partners will meet for the first time at ministerial 
level  to  hold  a  comprehensive,  integrated  and  balanced  discussion  on  the  issues 
related to migration. The upcoming Euro-Med ministerial meeting on migration will 
be  a  good  opportunity  to  underline  the  added  value  of  the  regional  cooperation 
framework, while stressing the need for continued progress by all Partners to achieve 
the  strategic  goal  of  optimising  the  social  and  economic  benefits  of  migration  for 
countries of origin, transit and destination. New initiatives by the EU to facilitate the 
management of legal migration could be highly relevant for Mediterranean Partners, 
for example the focus on circular migration or the concept of mobility partnerships. 

Towards a Euro-Mediterranean Higher Education and research Area 

32. 

To take forward the objectives of the 2007 Cairo Ministerial Conference on Higher 
Education and Scientific Research, the work of the Monitoring Committee for Euro-
Mediterranean  Cooperation  in  RTD  (MOCO)  will  be  complemented  with  the 
creation  of  an  expert  group  to  cover  higher  education..  The  Commission  considers 
that  the  most  relevant  issues  for  the  expert  group  are  the  introduction  and 
implementation  of  structural  reforms  in  Mediterranean  Partner  countries  structured 
around  the  three  main  areas  identified  at  the  EU  level,  namely  curricular  changes 
including  those  foreseen  by  the  Bologna  process,  governance  and  funding.  The 
expert  group  will  report  to  the  Euromed  Committee,  not  later  than  the  second 
semester of 2008. The Commission suggests that the first reporting exercise should 
focus  in  particular  on  the  contribution  to  the  overall  objective  of  approximation  of 
the  Euromed  Higher  Education  systems  with  relevance  to  the  Bologna  process  and 
the ECTS system.  

The MOCO will be involved in the INCO-NET project activities foreseen in 2008 (in 
which  all  MOCO  members  are  involved).  INCO-NET  type  activities  will  be 
instrumental  in  deepening  common  and  regional  priorities,  intensifying  awareness, 
capacity building and the functioning of the MOCO 

The action plan on the role of women in society 

33. 

The Euro-Mediterranean Committee is due to convene a Euro-Med ad hoc meeting at 
senior  expert  level  to  review  the  implementation  of  the  measures  agreed  at  the 
Istanbul  Ministerial  meeting  on  the  role  of  women  in  society  in  the  three  areas  of 
work  identified:  women’s  political  and  civil  rights;  women’s  social  and  economic 
rights  and  sustainable  development;  and  women’s  rights  in  the  cultural  sphere  and 
the role of communications and the mass media.  

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Euro-Med and the Media initiative 

34. 

35. 

Various  activities  in  the  media  sector  (training  of  young  journalists,  TV  and  radio 
programmes  in  local  languages,  press  supplements,  opinion  research  polling  and 
surveys, etc…) will help to enhance the visibility of the Euromed Partnership in the 
Mediterranean  region  as  well  as  will  contribute  to  a  mutual  understanding  of  the 
people  of  the  two  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  thanks  to  the  Information  and 
Communication programme. 

The  Euro-med  and  the  Media  Task  Force  will  reconvene  to  explore  ways  of 
consolidating the media’s voice and role in the Partnership. They will also advise on 
practical  proposals  to  deal  with  the  various  problems  raised  during  the  different 
media conferences and seminars. There will be a follow-up to the Dublin conference 
on  ‘Reporting  Terrorism’,  and  a  large  regional  conference  will  be  held  on  regional 
media development. 

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