The Foreign Ministers of European Union Mediterranean Countries will meet in Malta next February for one of two informal Ministerial meetings held twice yearly to discuss issues related to the EU, Mediterranean and international affairs. The decision was announced at the Informal Ministerial Meeting of European Union Mediterranean Countries held between Thursday and Friday in Lagonissi, Athens.
Commenting on this decision from Lagonissi, Foreign Minister Michael Frendo who participated in the Ministerial meeting said that Malta had expressed its willingness to host this meeting in view of the common elements that bring together the eight participating EU Mediterranean States. The eight EU Mediterranean Member States are Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Greece and Cyprus.
Dr Frendo added that such gatherings present an opportunity to discuss in a friendly, informal and transparent manner, issues of paramount importance to the citizens of these countries that affect the Mediterranean region and the European Union in general. In their concluding remarks, the eight countries agreed on the usefulness of these informal consultations and were keen on continuing the practice of meeting periodically at different levels.
Meanwhile, the two-day ministerial meeting in Lagonissi constituted part of a series of informal meetings that are periodically held at various levels between the eight EU Mediterranean countries. The Meeting convened in Athens decided to set up two working groups, one on the Middle East and another on Mediterranean issues.
On the Middle East, Ministers agreed on the creation of a working group at Ambassadorial Level to continue discussing developments and produce a draft working document. The Lagonissi Meeting has also agreed that Deputy Ministers in charge of European Affairs will meet periodically to define possible areas of cooperation on issues of interest to EU Mediterranean Member States.
On the issue of illegal immigration, the Meeting agreed to elaborate further and create a framework of ideas and proposals reflecting mutual concerns to suggest political food for thought to other partners in the European Union.
Ministers discussed also crisis response and agreed that lessons learned from the South East Asia Tsunami and the Lebanon crisis call for a better coordination and strengthening of the existing capabilities.
The Meeting also discussed the Mediterranean aspect of the European Neighborhood Policy, especially in view of the upcoming Commission Mid-term review of the instrument.
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