State Secretary Tiilikainen to attend the Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs

Press release 232/2007
2 November 2007

The 9th Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs is being held on 5–6 November in Lisbon. State Secretary Teija Tiilikainen will represent Finland at the meeting. The annual meeting of foreign ministers is the most important institution of the Euro-Mediterranean process. The previous meeting of foreign ministers took place in Tampere during Finland’s European Union Presidency.

An important goal of cooperation between the European Union and the Mediterranean region in Portugal’s EU Presidency is to improve relations between Africa and Europe, especially the Maghreb countries. The conference in Lisbon will discuss development of the Barcelona process especially with regard to the goals set in Tampere. Also on the agenda are the working programmeand cooperation for the near future. The topics at the foreign ministers’ working dinner will be the Middle Eastern peace process and Lebanon, while the situation in Iraq will be discussed at the working lunch. The aim of the conference is to approve a communiqué that includes a broad overview of the Barcelona process and a working programme for the year 2008.

The Mediterranean policy of the EU is grounded in the Barcelona process, launched in 1995, which encompasses the EU’s relations with nine countries: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey as well as the Palestinian Authority. Libya and Mauritania are observers. Finland has been an active participant in the Barcelona process from its onset and organised four Euro-Mediterranean ministerial meetings during the country’s EU Presidency. Finland supports the objectives of the 9th Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and efforts to strengthen the Barcelona process.

Additional information: First Secretary Päivi Alatalo, Unit for the Middle East and North Africa, mobile tel. +358 40 728 1238