The European Union and the countries of its Southern Neighbourhood reiterated their commitment to increase mutual engagement to close the existing gaps along the two shores of the Mediterranean, to further foster regional cooperation and to work together to face the negative impact of the Russian war against Ukraine.

This is the outcome of the 4th European Union-Southern Neighbourhood Ministerial Meeting which took place in Barcelona, Spain, on Thursday and was chaired by High Representative/Vice-President (HR/VP) Josep Borrell. The event brought together Ministers, deputy minister and diplomatic representatives from 36 countries.

The Ministerial took place right after the 7th Regional Forum of the Union for Mediterranean (UfM) and provided a platform to discuss the most pressing economic, social, environmental, and security challenges that the Mediterranean region is facing today. High Representative Borrell assured the Southern partners that the EU’s focus on the war against Ukraine does not come at the expense of the EU’s commitment to partners in the Southern Mediterranean.

HR/VP Borrell said: “We are not just neighbours, we are a community. We need to strengthen our regional integration. We need much better connectivity, both on the infrastructure side and the regulatory side. We must further reinforce our strong and strategic partnership to successfully address the multiple crises that we are facing today. The EU remains committed to work with its Southern partners, notably in addressing specific challenges encountered by them as a consequence of the Russian war against Ukraine.”