The Catalan Government celebrated a Summit for the Mediterranean Macroregion at the Palau de la Generalitat, which approved a political declaration urging the member states, especially the current Spanish presidency of the Council of European Union, to start the procedures for the European Commission to activate the proposal for the creation of the macro-region and the definition of the action plan.

MedCities members, such as Montpellier and Tanger, supported and signed the declaration among other sixty participants, including representatives of 12 governments from 6 states (Albania, Spain, France, Greece, Italy and Morocco), as well as international organizations and European institutions such as the Parliament European, the Committee of the Regions or the European Economic and Social Committee.

During the session, the President of the Catalan Governement, Mr. Pere Aragonès, and the Councilor of Foreign Affairs and the European Union, Ms. Meritxell Serret, pointed out that the main objective of this macro-region will be to share strategies and find joint solutions to face the fight against climate change. Ms. Serret recalled that «the Mediterranean is one of the regions of the world most affected by global warming and the territories present at the Summit suffer the consequences of climate change», such as the drought that Catalonia is experiencing».

The Mediterranean macro-region is a political framework for the cooperation of Mediterranean actors and governments that will allow Mediterranean countries to better face shared challenges, such as demographic, technological, economic and social, prioritizing the climate emergency.

The Catalan Government, as MedCities observer member, was present at MedCities General Assembly in Sarajevo through the Councilor of Foreign Affairs and the European Union, Ms. Meritxell Serret who recalled the promotion of the macro-region as a project that is taking a step forward: «We promoted the Mediterranean Macro-region with the conviction that the Mediterranean area is a priority for external action in Europe and the Mediterranean». Serret also explained: «We need to join efforts, expertise and promote specific projects that give a vision of the future and prosperity to our fellow citizens of the Mediterranean coast».

The Summit culminated the advocacy strategy that the Government has made in recent months to add allies and adhesions to the project.

MedCities and city member interest for the Mediterranean macro-region
The Mediterranean macro-region is an initiative led by Catalonia, together with the government of the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, which was initially promoted within the framework of the Inter-Mediterranean Commission of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CIM-CRPM). The purpose of the macro-region is to group governments and other actors from the two shores of the Mediterranean under a territorial cooperation instrument recognized by European institutions that allows them to join forces and jointly defend interests to respond to shared challenges, giving particular priority to the fight against climate crisis with obvious consequences in the region.

Ms. Clare Hart, Vice-Presidente Montpellier Mediteranée Métropole, as a representative of MedCities Presidency, Montpellier, and Mr. Mounir Laymouri, Mayor of Tanger agreed on the need for the creation of a macro-region, as a tool for local authorities to put their needs and challenges in global agendas.

The aim of the Mediterranean Macro-region is to achieve a territorial cooperation instrument that allows to work together and with one single voice to defend the common interest to face common challenges in the Mediterranean area in a globalized world.

Read more about the actions done so far to support the Mediterranean Macro-region:

• MedCities Dialogue with Ms.Meritxell Serret and Nikola Dobroslavic
• Creation of the ‘Friends of the Macroregion’ group in Brussels
• MedCoopAlliance meeting to support the Macroregion

Here is the list of participants of the summit:

♦ Government of Catalonia
♦ Government of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (France)
♦ Government of Corsica (France)
♦ Government of Calabria (Italy)
♦ Government of Emilia-Romagna (Italy)
♦ Government of Eastern Greece (Greece)
♦ Government of Shkodër (Albania)
♦ Government of Tirana (Albania)
♦ Government of Crete (Greece)
♦ Government of L’Oriental (Morocco)
♦ Government of Tangier-Tetouan-Al-Hoceima (Morocco)
♦ Government of Andalusia (Spain)
♦ Government of Occitania (France)
♦ Parliament of Lebanon 7
♦ City Council of Montpellier (France)
♦ City Council of Tangier (Morocco)
♦ Barcelona City Council
♦ Council of the European Union
♦ European Commission
♦ European Parliament
♦ Committee of the Regions
♦ European Economic and Social Committee
♦ Union for the Mediterranean
♦ European Mediterranean Institute
♦ Conference of the Peripheral Maritime Regions
♦ Adriatic Euroregion
♦ MedCities
♦ Med Coop Alliance
♦ PRIMA Foundation (Partnership on Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area)
♦ Interreg Euro-MED programme