Under the Global Europe Instrument, we have doubled the funding for the MENA region, now reaching €42.5 billion.   This is a strong financial toolbox, with which we will invest in stability, security and prosperity, through mutually beneficial partnerships with our Southern neighbours in the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf. We will be able to address our strategic interests in these critical regions more effectively, and we will do it in close cooperation with our partners in the South.

But this is not only about funding.  Global Europe empowers us to be a player, not just a payer. It will also enable us to deliver the New Pact for the Mediterranean, which I will present in October. Investing in the region is investing in our own stability, competitiveness, and prosperity. The Mediterranean is not only a region of challenges but also a region of opportunities.  This instrument will apply as of 2028. But it is already clear that the challenges that our partners face will not go away and will – if anything – have an even bigger impact on us in the European Union.

We will address the fall-out of conflicts and help pave the way to recovery, reconstruction and reform. We will help partners tackle the roots of socio-economic fragility, which lies at the heart of political instability and radicalization. We will also address the green transition challenge by investing in renewable energy generation, for the benefit of citizens on both shores of the Mediterranean. We will also enhance investments in security and safe borders, to better control human smuggling and illegal migration. But we will also develop legal pathways for migration.

We will also support firmly the so-called people-to-people exchanges. Concretely: we will build a true Mediterranean University network; we will expand the Erasmus exchanges with our partner countries; and we will step up investments in cultural and sports cooperation. In short, these increased funds will enable us to respond more effectively to an increasingly volatile geopolitical context right at our doorstep.  The stability and prosperity of the Mediterranean are directly linked to our own. Their safety is our safety. Their success is our shared success. Their protection of borders is also ours.