29.03.2022

This publication titled “Renewed partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood A new Agenda for the Mediterranean 2021 – 2027”  illustrates  the agenda for the Mediterranean for the period between 2021 – 2027 which was presented on  February 9, 2021, by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Twenty-five years after the Barcelona Declaration, the new Agenda aims at strengthening the Mediterranean partnership, a strategic imperative for the European Union, and providing a common response to challenges the region continues to face.

The new Agenda will guide the European Union’s bilateral, regional, and cross-regional cooperation under the EU’s Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI). For the period 2021-2027, the European Commission proposes to mobilise up to €7 billion under the NDICI, including European Fund for Sustainable Development plus guarantees and blending under the Neighbourhood Investment Platform, which would help mobilise private and public investments of up to €30 billion in the Southern Neighbourhood.

This  new Agenda for the Mediterranean proposes a range of actions along with the following key policy areas:

•  Human development, good governance and the rule of law
• Strengthen resilience, build prosperity and seize the digital transition
• Peace and security
• Migration and mobility
• Green transition: climate resilience, energy, and environment

The EU intends to strengthen the political dialogue across the Mediterranean by setting up annual meetings of EU member states’ and Southern Neighbourhood partners’ foreign ministers to review progress in the implementation of the new Agenda for the Mediterranean.