Youth employment regional discussion at the Union for the Mediterranean in Valencia

The objective of the meeting was to focus on the implementation of UfM Action Plan 2026-2028, the Interreg Next Med programme, as well as the activities of the UfM Community of Practices for Youth Employment in the Southern Mediterranean (STEER) and the UfM Monitoring exercise. The meeting was co-chaired by the European Commission (Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion) and the Jordanian Ministry of Labour.

The one and a half day event brought together over 70 representatives from 24 UfM Member States, 4 social partner regional organisations and representatives from Interreg NEXT MED, the Valencian Government and the UfM Community of Practice STEER.

Highlights

The Valencian Government, as host of the meeting, commended the ambitious UfM Action Plan and highlighted the alignment between its priorities and those adopted by the Autonomous Community of Valenica.

The platform being held in Valencia, home to Interreg, featured a dedicated session on Interreg Next Med programme and beneficiary projects, showcasing concrete examples of cross-border cooperation supporting employment, skills development and social inclusion. The exchanges highlighted the added value of territorial cooperation in fostering innovation, sharing good practices and scaling up impactful initiatives across the Mediterranean.

The meeting also included a session on the implementation and the key priorities of the UfM Action Plan 2026-2028, underlying the significance of the alignment of regional employment and skills initiatives with wider EU frameworks and priorities.

Field visits to local initiatives in Valencia were organised: to NGO Jovesólides and two Second Chance schools that are dedicated to social inclusion and economic empowerment through the education and training of technical skills.

Sharing best practices

During the discussions, several UfM Member States and Social Partners showcased their work on promoting employment in relation to the UfM Action Plan 2026-2028, such as:

• Cyprus and its priorities on employment under the Cyprus EU Presidency
• Tunisia, which promoted its transition from informal to formal employment
• Germany, which shared its work on fair labour mobility and integration of third-country immigrants
• Montenegro, which informed participants about its Active Labour Market Policies

It was also a timely occasion to share the state of play of the EU-funded regional programmes and the Pact for the Mediterranean.

In parallel, the third gathering of the UfM Community of Practice on Youth Employment (STEER) took place back-to-back, which focused on initiatives to ameliorate the transition from education to employment and policy recommendations to the UfM Co-Presidency and UfM Secretariat.

Background

The UfM Regional Platform on Employment and Labour meets biannually, bringing together employment and labour ministries from UfM Member States, European institutions/ agencies and international organisations. The platform serves as a space for discussing the current realities and follows up on the implementation of relevant Ministerial Declarations.

Details

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