MFA: Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean wants closer cooperation

The purpose of the meeting is to intensify Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, to strengthen mutual trust through political dialogue between the EU and its Southern Neighbourhood countries, as well as to find ways to respond to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. A concrete objective is to speed up the adoption of so-called partnerships, which form a foundation for joint projects between the EU and countries of the Southern Neighbourhood can be launched.

“It is important for Finland to adhere to the EU’s value base, strengthen the participation of women and youth, and promote environmental protection and action against climate change,” says Minister for Foreign Affairs Haavisto.

In their discussions, EU ministers will focus on efforts to speed up the handling of partnership agreements and on reminding each other of the agreed partnership priorities. The priorities define the political framework for cooperation that guides individual partnership negotiations and sets the preconditions for the funding paid by the EU. Different EU countries have different interests: for the southern Member States, the new policy offers an opportunity to generate economic and social stability, including jobs, especially in North African countries.

Inquiries:

Laila Clyne, Diplomatic Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 295 350 492
Mari Neuvonen, Counsellor, Unit for Northern Europe, tel. +358 295 350 766
The Foreign Ministry’s email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname@formin.fi.