Different regional representatives across the Mediterranean with Members of the European Parliament and representatives from the European institutions gathered together in Brussels on 24 April 2023 for the event “Launching the Friends of the Mediterranean Macro-Region” to give a political push to the creation of a Mediterranean Macro-Regional Strategy and, after the debate, the participants and speakers signed a declaration in which they commit to provoke actions from the European Institutions regarding its establishment.
The creation of a macro-regional strategy for the Mediterranean has been present in EU discourse for long, drawing support from territorial actors, regional authorities inside and outside the EU, Members of the European Parliament, and institutions such as the Committee of the Regions. Although this efforts, there has been a lack of consensus at that has hindered its establishment so far. The launch of the Friends of the Mediterranean Macro-Region initiative aims to boost the momentum ahead of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU in order to promote urgent action and completion.
The Adriatic Ionian Euroregion, as Member of the Mediterranean Cooperation Alliance, has supported this initiative by attending the event and by signing the declaration that consolidate its “friendship” towards the Mediterranean macro-regional strategy. Also the AIE President Nikola Dobroslavic has showed its political commitment by drafting as rapporteur for the Committee of the Regions the opinion “Towards a macro-regional strategy in the Mediterranean“ which was approved in October 2022 by the CoR Assembly.
Due to other commitments, the AIE President was not able to attend as speaker the event in Brussels but he delegated Ms. Jelena Stjepčević (Coordinator of the Office for International Cooperation – Kotor Municipality – full AIE member) to represent the Euroregion during the signature ceremony of the “Declaration of the Friends of the Mediterranean Macro Region“.
By signing the declaration, AIE joints officially in the stakeholder group of supporters for the MED macro-region, a community of institutions and key actors who believe that time has come to strengthen cooperation in the Mediterranean.
