Local and regional authorities need active role in the Pact for the Mediterranean

Local and regional authorities call for greater political involvement, support and resources to strengthen their contribution to the Pact.

Meeting on 8 June, local and regional politicians and stakeholders from the EU and Mediterranean partner countries issued a strong call for the formal integration of local and regional authorities into the governance and implementation of the Pact for the Mediterranean, stressing that while they are already contributing on the ground through many concrete Euro-Mediterranean cooperation projects, they need greater political recognition, support and resources to strengthen that contribution.

They also exchanged views and experiences on ongoing civil-protection initiatives in the Euro-Mediterranean area. ARLEM 2025 prize-winner Mokhtar Bouazza from Algeria invited ARLEM members to a free trial of his winning project 'AI-Driven Water Resilience for Mediterranean Agriculture'.

Pact for the Mediterranean

At their meetings in Brussels, members of the Commission for Sustainable Territorial Development of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) and local and regional stakeholders discussed the joint report by co-rapporteurs Marie-Antoinette Maupertuis (FR/EA) of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and Jamal Abu Obeid, Mayor of Great Ramtha (Jordan), on 'Delivering the Pact for the Mediterranean with local and regional authorities.'

For the Pact to be a success, local and regional authorities need to be directly involved and ARLEM's participation institutionalised, the report found. This view was widely shared by committee members and their partners across the Mediterranean. The two co-rapporteurs pointed to water resilience, climate-change adaptation, civil protection and providing opportunities for young people as the highest priorities on the ground. There is a need for adequate funding for projects that address universal challenges with local solutions adapted to specific regional and local realities. Civil society and citizens themselves must also be part of the Pact's implementation process.

The European Commission stressed that the Pact for the Mediterranean was designed by the Commission as a proposal and an invitation for participation to all relevant institutions to work together. The next Multiannual Financial Framework could provide funding for specific actions under the Pact.

Civil protection

As summer brings again risks of wildfires, ARLEM members talked about the importance of civil protection, including the need for training, exchange of information across borders and access to equipment. Civil protection is also important as an economic activity that brings employment and promotes research and innovation. The EC has placed a special emphasis on preparedness and early warning systems. It has put together facilities such as a firefighters' hub on Cyprus that focuses on the Eastern Mediterranean.

ARLEM award

ARLEM 2025 prize-winner Mokhtar Bouazzafrom Algeriapresented his 'AI-Driven Water Resilience for Mediterranean Agriculture' project that uses drones, satellite imagery and A.I. to make farming more effective. He has set up a European outlet of his company in Spain and is inviting ARLEM members to test his system for free for a year and a half. Algerian farms who have already used it, have reduced water consumption by 40% and increase yields by 35%.

Quotes:

• Joško Klisović (HR/PES), member of the Assembly of the City of Zagreb: "The Pact for the Mediterranean marks a welcome step towards a more ambitious and balanced Euro-Mediterranean partnership. But delivering on its promises requires investment in people, places and local democracy. Cities and regions must have a seat at the table, not only when implementing policies, but when designing and evaluating them. From water resilience and civil protection to youth opportunities and social inclusion, the challenges we face are deeply territorial. A stronger Mediterranean can only be built through solidarity, shared prosperity and genuine multi-level governance that leaves no territory and no community behind."

• Marie-Antoinette Maupertuis (FR/EA), President of the Assembly of Corsica: "The implementation of the Pact must be a shared responsibility between both shores of the Mediterranean, based on co-governance rather than a top-down approach. The success of the Pact will depend on the genuine involvement of local and regional authorities, taking into account the specificities of all territories."
• Jamal Abu Obeid, mayor of Ramtha municipality in Jordan: "The Mediterranean is a region of shared history, shared challenges and shared opportunities. If we truly want this Pact to succeed, we must build it together with all levels of governance. In my own municipality, as in many others across the Mediterranean, water scarcity, climate change, migration and territorial resilience are challenges local and regional authorities manage every single day."

Background:

• Meeting details: The agenda, webstreaming, and the documents of the 8 June 2026 meeting of ARLEM's Commission for Sustainable Territorial Development can be found on the event page; similar material is available about the ARLEM stakeholder consultation. Photos are available.
• ARLEM: The Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) was created in 2010 by the European Committee of the Regions, as a means of providing a regional and local voice within the broader framework of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). The UfM was established in 2008, a result of an initiative in Euro-Mediterranean cooperation launched in 1995 in Barcelona to address cultural, economic, political, and environmental challenges.

• Pact for the Mediterranean: The Pact for the Mediterranean - Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf was launched in November 2025 and constitutes a renewed strategic commitment by the European Union to its southern neighbourhood. It is based on three main pillars: (1) people, (2) stronger and more sustainable economies, and (3) security, preparedness and migration management. The Pact builds on the strategy laid out in 2021 in the EU's New Agenda for the Mediterranean. It is seen as a means of identifying initiatives that will provide a framework for cooperation focused on people, on boosting trade and tapping the potential of renewable energy and the digital economy, and on strengthening security and resilience. It will complement existing comprehensive bilateral partnerships with Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan, and encourage other similar partnerships. ARLEM is entrusted by the Pact with the role of being 'a key institutional channel for regional and local contributions'. In 2025, ARLEM adopted its related report 'Territorial Perspectives for the New Euro-Mediterranean Strategic Agenda' (co-rapporteurs: Arianna Censi, deputy mayor of Milan, and Rama Mohammed El Ezzi, deputy city manager of Amman, Jordan)
• ARLEM award: The CoR launched its ARLEM Award for Young Local Entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean in close cooperation with its partners and supporters with the aim of recognising outstanding young local entrepreneurs from the Mediterranean partner countries. The award gives special credit to the role of local or regional authorities in supporting an entrepreneur's journey. In 2026, the ARLEM Award enters its eighth year.