The Minister for Foreign Action and European Union, Meritxell Serret i Aleu, today took part in the Intermediterranean Commission of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR), in Saint-Malo, to explain the progress made in the creation of the Mediterranean macroregion. It is an initiative led by Catalonia and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region of France that aims to bring together governments and other stakeholders from both sides of the Mediterranean to provide a joint response to shared challenges, such as the climate emergency.

The meeting took place within the framework of the CPMR’s second annual assembly and coincided with the celebration of the organisation’s 50th anniversary. Serret underlined the efforts of the Government of Catalonia and the regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Calabria to join alliances in this initiative, and she conveyed the priorities to the other participants. “We need a Mediterranean macroregion to tackle the climate crisis,” she said, and explained that it must be structured through multi-level governance at European, national, regional and local level, as well as within civil society.

The Minister also stressed that the strategy should have a gradual, voluntary approach and that it is an open initiative throughout the Mediterranean region. “The strategy will maximise the potential of Mediterranean policies without forgetting anyone,” she said.

In this regard, Serret reminded those present that the Catalan Government has organised for this 24 November the Mediterranean Macroregion Summit in Barcelona. The event will bring together representatives of various governments from all over the Mediterranean with the aim of reaching a consensus on objectives and determining the structure, composition and resources of the future macroregion.

Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions

The Mediterranean macroregion is a project promoted by the Intermediterranean Commission of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CIM-CPMR), made up of some 40 Mediterranean regions, mainly from the European Union, but also from the southern shore. Catalonia, together with the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, leads the macroregional working group, from which this initiative is promoted.