The plenary was chaired by ARLEM co-presidents Mercedes Bresso, president of the Committee of the Regions, and Mohamed Boudra, president of the region of Taza-Al Hoceima-Taounate (Morocco).

A year after the start of the Arab Spring, the discussion and adoption of a report on "The territorial dimension of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM)" drafted by the ARLEM co-presidents provided the chance to exchange views and expertise on the implementation of partnerships and joint projects among regions and cities of the three shores of the Mediterranean.

Discussions also focused on the new cooperation opportunities brought about by the recent evolution of several Mediterranean countries toward regionalisation and devolution of powers to local authorities. Particularly relevant in this respect was the presence of representatives from the newly-appointed Tunisian and Egyptian local governments.

Members shared strategies and best practices developed in dealing with major sustainability challenges within a debate on reports that have been drafted on the relationship between desertification and climate change in the Mediterranean, and on renewable energy in the Mediterranean.

As top priority of the gathering, sustainability was also the key driver of the initiative undertaken by the ARLEM members to enlarge the Covenant of Mayors to the Southern Mediterranean, aimed at including regions and cities of this strategic area in the joint commitment to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% by the year 2020.

Two more reports were discussed and adopted by the plenary. The first on the preservation and enhancement of cultural heritage in the Mediterranean, and the second on the role of small and medium enterprises in the Mediterranean.

The reports are destined for the UfM and were presented to Lino Cardarelli, UfM Deputy Secretary General who attended the meeting.

In this event EMUNI presented a report on a Euro-Mediterranean Academic Platform on Water Resources Sustainability in Semiarid Areas that was done together with Campus Mare Nostrum 37/38 and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. In conclusion, the report stressed that the necessity of an urgent response from ARLEM to drought problems is strongly solicited in arid and semi arid regions, where the risk of severe water shortages is growing, due to the pressure of increasing demands on scarce water resources presenting a high natural variability.

EMUNI University is further enhancing its co-operation with ARLEM, which has by now developed a very fruitful cooperation with the UfM secretariat which regularly participates in ARLEM meetings to provide expertise and inform members about the latest developments. ARLEM has now also embarked on an excellent process of cooperation with the Euro-Mediterranean University and has signed a Declaration of Intent in order to create synergies between local and regional authorities and research institutions and the academic world at its plenary session in Bari on 30 January 2012. The signature of the Declaration of Intent presents the first step toward building the ways to best materialize the cooperation. ARLEM will appreciate EMUNI University's expertise and academic support for its thematic work, especially concerning domains of UfM policies, decentralisation and regionalisation. ARLEM is also interested in the initiative foreseen for 2012 to establish EMUNItt - EMUNI Think Tank and in its activities.

ARLEM is a consultative assembly, which aims at bringing a regional and local dimension to the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. It gathers 84 members from the EU and its 16 Mediterranean partners who are representatives of regions and local bodies holding a regional or local authority mandate.

Source: ENPI Info Centre

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