Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on Transport

The first Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Transport Ministers held on 15 December 2005 in Marrakesh, Morocco enabled the transport ministers from the EU and the Mediterranean countries to define the main guidelines for improving transport in the Mediterranean region and to outline the future priorities for increased cooperation on transport issues.

The ministerial conference was hosted and organised by the Moroccan Ministry of Equipment and Transport in cooperation with the UK Presidency of the EU and with the European Commission.

Participants included the ministers of transport from:

• the 10 Mediterranean Partners
• the 25 EU Member States and
• the EU candidate countries

As a follow-up to the five-year action plan agreed upon during the Euro-Mediterranean Summit, held on 26-28 November in Barcelona, Spain, the ministerial conference offered an opportunity to examine the challenges in all transport sectors and to explore channels for reinforced future cooperation for developing a Euro-Mediterranean transport network.

The ministerial conference also gave a great visibility to the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, in particular in the context of the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Barcelona Declaration and the celebration of the year 2005 as ‘Year of the Mediterranean’.

The ministerial conference provided a new impetus for the policy dialogue on Euro-Mediterranean transport and gave momentum to the efforts undertaken to promote the improvement of transport links in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

Speakers included ministers of transport from MEDA countries, the European Commissioner for Transport, the President of the European Investment Bank and the Chair of the High-Level Group on the extension of the major Trans-European transport axes to the neighbouring countries and regions.

The conference covered issues such as

• the status of transport sector reform in the Mediterranean region
• the way forward for Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in the field of transport
• infrastructure development and financing of transport investments in the Mediterranean region

The discussions focused primarily on the work undertaken within the Euro-Mediterranean Transport Forum and in particular the ‘Blue Paper on Transport in the Mediterranean Region’ and on the final report of the High-Level Group.