1995: The Barcelona Process was launched in 1995 with the aim to strengthen relations between Europe and the Southern Mediterranean countries. The goal of this framework was to contribute to peace and security in the region. The Barcelona Declaration was based on the following sets of objectives: a political and security partnership, an economic and financial partnership and a social, cultural and human partnership.
2008: The UfM was launched at the Paris Summit for the Mediterranean and it eventually absorbed the Barcelona Process. In addition to the 28 EU Member States and the 10 Southern Mediterranean partners, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Monaco, Montenegro and Mauritania joined the cooperation. Members created the UfM in order to give the cooperation fresh impetus.
At the time, six concrete projects were selected as priorities for the UfM: de-pollution of the Mediterranean Sea; maritime and land highways; solar energy; regional research programmes; joint civil protection programme for disasters; and business development for small and medium-sized enterprises.
The initial form of inter-parliamentary cooperation was the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Forum, which was first convened in 1998. Delegates from the EP and the national parliaments of the EU Members and Southern Mediterranean partners attended this forum.
The European Parliament initiated the Forum’s conversion into a genuine Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA) through a resolution. In 2002, the fifth Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Foreign Ministers in Valencia approved this resolution. Following, the EMPA’s inaugural sitting was held in Greece in March 2004.
At the sixth plenary session, held in Amman in March 2010, EMPA’s name was changed to Parliamentary Assembly of the UfM (PA-UfM). This name emphasizes the PA-UfM’s unique role as the parliamentary body of the UfM, with a focus on democratic control and its consultative role.
