9 November 2008

Relevant Events

The Permanent Secretariat for the Mediterranean Union (UpM), which will be located in Barcelona's Pedralbes Palace, will be fully operational by May 2009, according to the final declaration issued by the Foreign Ministers of the Union's members.

The new agency, which is to have a technical profile and in no case a political role, will be responsible for coordinating and finding financing for investment projects in the Mediterranean area, especially on the Southern rim. The Secretariat main duties include: decontamination of the Mediterranean sea, maritime and land transport, civil protection programs for disaster prevention, renewable energies, university exchange, business development and a plan for Erasmus students.

The office will consist of a secretary general, predictably a Tunisian national and five deputy secretaries-general from Greece, Israel, Italy, Malta and the Palestinian Authority, with a three-year term, extendable for one more period. The Secretariat will also have 70 officials from member countries, chosen on the basis of "geographical balance."

Source: El País, 6/11/2008