The presidency of the UPM passes under the European banner

(BRUSSELS2) The Union for the Mediterranean (UPM), this "thing" which seemed to have a bright future, following on from the "Barcelona process", and then began to "flounder", continues to operate. Working groups meet and projects are drawn up, in a rapidly changing political context marked by the "Arab revolutions". Among these, the project for a Maghreb highway from Rabat to Tunis, intended to finalize the 250 km that are missing between the three Maghreb countries (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia); a project which has already been approved and which will begin to be financed. A desalination project in Gaza is also expected to be approved at the first meeting on March 20-21 in Barcelona. And the presidency at its head has just changed...

Variable European Presidency...

The 27 Foreign Ministers thus approved on Monday (27 February) the handover of the "Northern" presidency of the Union for the Mediterranean to the European Union as such. It is thus the High Representative of the EU, Catherine Ashton, who should chair the meetings of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs; while the competent commissioner will chair the "technical" meetings - or the rotating presidency if this is a non-exclusive competence of the European Union. The meetings of the "Senior Officials" - this high-level group which prepares the ministerial meetings - will also take place under the chairmanship of the European External Action Service. An agreement which comes into force on March 1 for one year until March 2013.

As for the "South" presidency of the UPM, that's another story... The general Secretariat of the UPM remains for the moment assured by the Moroccan Fathallah Sijilmassi, director of the Moroccan Agency for the development of investments, former ambassador to France and to the European Communities.