Tenth Anniversary Euromed Summit 27-28 November 2005

The Barcelona Summit, held on 27 and 28 November, marked the political reinforcement of a unique regional cooperation process, which began in 1995 when Spain held the Presidency of the European Union. The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (Euromed), established in 1995, aimed to achieve stability and development in the Mediterranean and covered political, economic and social cooperation. Specifically, the Barcelona Declaration adopted at the Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference in Barcelona on 27 and 28 November 1995, covers three main issues: a) partnership in the political and security field, with the aim of establishing a common area of peace and stability, b) partnership in the economic and financial field, with the aim of building an area of shared prosperity, especially through the gradual establishment of a free trade area, and c) partnership in the social, cultural and humanitarian field, with the aim of developing human resources, promoting understanding between cultures and exchanges within civil society.
The Barcelona Declaration provides for periodic meetings of Foreign Ministers of the Mediterranean partners and the EU. These Euro-Mediterranean meetings will be prepared by the Euro-Mediterranean committee of the Barcelona process, which is responsible for continuing the process and cooperation priorities.
For the first time, and to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Euro-Mediterranean Conference in Barcelona, the countries belonging to the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership met at the level of Heads of State and Government on 27 and 28 November 2005. Since the creation of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (or Barcelona Process), significant changes have occurred on the international scene and within the European Union, resulting in the need for revision and updating. The agreement on the Code of Conduct for Combating Terrorism adopted at this Summit moved in this direction. In this way, the member states of the Summit showed their commitment to closer cooperation and their determination to effectively address the challenge of terrorism. Additionally, they agreed on a Five-Year Work Program designed, among other things: to promote political dialogue and reform, address regional and global threats to security and stability, support sustainable socio-economic development, accelerate moves towards a free trade area, work on the decontamination of the Mediterranean, strengthen cooperation in education and culture, and address migration flows through a comprehensive and integrated approach.
In 2008, new impetus was given to Euromed through the multilateral Union for the Mediterranean. Regional projects were launched in areas such as economy, environment, energy, and migration. A roadmap for action, approved at ministerial level in 2017, provides the main directions for the Union for the Mediterranean.
In addition to the 27 EU countries, 15 partners participate in the Union for the Mediterranean: Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey.
Some of these countries are now candidate countries or potential candidates for EU accession, while others have priorities or action plans under bilateral cooperation through the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). The 2015 ENP review focused on stabilizing the neighborhood, a differentiated approach per partner country, and greater responsibility for the relevant policy from all actors. The Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument for the period 2021-2027 offers financial support to the ENP and has a budget of 19 billion euros for the neighborhood areas alone under the geographical pillar.