Euro-Mediterranean integration: The role of regional and local authorities

In the year marking the 25^th anniversary of the Barcelona Declaration, the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) also chose to celebrate its 10^th anniversary in Barcelona on 23 January 2020.

Supported by the institutional framework of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the Committee of the Regions (CoR), ARLEM is a regional cooperation experience focusing on proximity to citizens, efficiency in project management and response to real-life problems. Over 100 representatives of local and regional authorities from the three shores of the Mediterranean gathered in Barcelona to reinvigorate the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership in order to find commons responses to the effects of climate change.

The Mayor of Barcelona, ​​Ada Colau, reminded the representatives that climate change and the fight for equalities are the priorities for the shores of the Mediterranean. She called on representatives to strengthen and support “a multilevel governance scheme to respond to the immediate regional challenges.”. She also invited cities to promote shared strategies because “the new challenges of the Mediterranean are assuming an increasingly urban dimension.”