EU Med Group

EU Med, EuroMed 9, or MED9 (formerly MED7;^[3] from EUrope Mediterranean), which is also referred to as "Club Med" and "Med Group", is an alliance of nine Mediterranean and Southern European Union member states: Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. They are part of the Mediterranean Basin. All nine countries are states of the European Union, part of the eurozone (euro currency), and all except Cyprus are part of the unbounded Schengen Area.

History

The Group was informally established on 17 December 2013 in Brussels at the initiative of the Foreign Ministers of Cyprus and Spain in order to create coordination on issues of common interest within the EU.^[4]

It was decided that the group would hold an annual meeting at the ministerial level. The first ministerial meeting was to take place in Greece in 2014, during Greece's presidency of the Council, but instead took place on 14 April in Alicante.^[5][6][7]

The second meeting took place in February 2015 in Paris.^[8] The 3rd Ministerial Meeting of the Mediterranean Group took place in Cyprus in February 2016 which was also attended by the Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Fathallah Sijilmassi. The Foreign Ministers discussed security and stability issues in North Africa and the Middle East as well as the handling of the migration crisis.^[9][10][11]

The Group held its 1st Southern EU countries' Summit on 9 September 2016 at the Zappeion Palace in Athens.^[12] Following the summit, the Athens Declaration was issued calling for investment to tackle youth unemployment and support growth, as well as stronger EU cooperation on issues of security and migration.^[13][14] The next summit is scheduled to take place in Spain, at the Royal Palace of El Pardo.^[15]

The seventh meeting was made on 10 September 2020 in Porticcio, Corsica, and concerned Turkey's concurrent unilateral activities in the eastern Mediterranean.^[16]

In 2021 it was announced during the Prime Minister Janez Janša's visit to Greece that Slovenia will join the group with a support of France, Spain and Greece.

Croatia and Slovenia first attended 17 September 2021 Athens meeting.^[17][18]

Members

Summits

• 9 September 2016 in Athens,
• 28 January 2017 in Lisbon,
• 10 April 2017 in Madrid,
• 10 January 2018 in Rome,
• 29 January 2019 in Nicosia,
• 14 June 2019 in Valletta,
• 10 September 2020 in Porticcio (Corsica),
• 17 September 2021 in Athens,
• 9 December 2022 in Alicante,
• 29 September 2023 in Mdina,
• 11 October 2024 in Paphos,
• 20 October 2025 in Portorož,
• 7 October 2026 in Split,

See also

• Craiova Group
• Open Balkan
• Three Seas Initiative
• European integration
• Multi-speed Europe
• New Hanseatic League
• Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
• Visegrád Group

References

1. ^ "Population on 1st January by age, sex and type of projection". Eurostat. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
2. ^ "World Economic Outlook Database, 2019". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
3. ^ Africa and the World: Navigating Shifting Geopolitics. The Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA). 2020. p. 236. ISBN 9780639995564.
4. ^ "EuroMed 7: Η ταυτότητα και οι στόχοι της Συμμαχίας - Η Διακήρυξη του 2019 με φόντο τις τουρκικές προκλήσεις". enikos.gr. September 9, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
5. ^ "FM participates in "Med Group" Meeting". Famagusta-gazette.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-17. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
6. ^ "" Med Group " meeting at the initiative of Cyprus and Spain (Brussels – (...) - La France à Malte". Ambafrance-mt.org. 2013-12-30. Archived from the original on 2016-10-20. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
7. ^ "Informal Ministerial Meeting of the Mediterranean Group: UfM presents latest updates on regional integration efforts - Union for the Mediterranean - UfM". Ufmsecretariat.org. 2014-04-16. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
8. ^ "FM to attend Med Group ministerial meeting in Paris - ABNA-SE - The Association of the Balkan News Agencies – Southeast Europe". Abnaorg.eu. 2015-02-19. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
9. ^ "MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS - News - Med Group's Ministers of Foreign Affairs gave a joint Press Conference". Archived from the original on 2016-05-09. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
10. ^ "Ministerial Meeting of the "Med Group": UfM Secretary General presents state of play and perspectives for regional integration in the Mediterranean - Union for the Mediterranean - UfM". Ufmsecretariat.org. 2016-02-26. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
11. ^ "Cyprus - 3rd informal Ministerial Meeting of the "Med Group" - Joint Communiqué (25-26.02.16) - France-Diplomatie - Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development". Diplomatie.gouv.fr. 2016-02-26. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
12. ^ Kambas, Michele (2016-09-09). "EU Med nations hold summit on growth, EU paymasters question motive". Uk.reuters.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2016. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
13. ^ Dr. Michael Ivanovitch (2016-09-11). "Bratislava EU talkfest will ignore pain in Club Med economies". Cnbc.com. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
14. ^ Kostaki, Irene (2016-09-11). "Club Med does Bratislava". Neweurope.eu. Archived from the original on 2019-08-09. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
15. ^ "Spain to host southern EU leaders Brexit meeting". EURACTIV. March 30, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
16. ^ "EU Med leaders threaten Turkey with sanctions for 'unilateral' actions in Mediterranean". seenews.com. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
17. ^ "Cyprus problem to be discussed at upcoming EUMed summit". cyprus-mail.com. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
18. ^ "Hrvatska je od danas dio EU MED, osnažujemo utjecaj i mediteransku pripadnost [Croatia part of EU MED from today, strengthening our influence and Mediterranean affiliation]" (in Croatian). vlada.gov.hr. Retrieved 24 September 2021.