ARLEM

History

In the immediate aftermath of the establishment of the Union for the Mediterranean at the July 2008 Paris Summit, the Committee of the Regions submitted a proposal to the Heads of State and Government for the creation, in the form of a Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly, of a territorial dimension to the partnership. This proposal was promoted and supported by partner countries.

Several associations, among which the UCLG, the Mediterranean Interregional Committee of UCLG, fostered the creation of ARLEM in January 2010 to facilitate the establishment of contacts, good practice sharing between cities and regions and the promotion of inter-municipal and inter-regional co-operation.

Members of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly met for the second ARLEM plenary session in Agadir (Morocco) on 29 January 2011 where the local and regional leaders of the Mediterranean adopted three major reports on local management on water, urban development and the territorial dimension of the Union for the Mediterranean. These reports were presented to the General Secretariat of the UfM the EU institutions and other players active in Euro-Mediterranean co-operation. ARLEM also agreed to issue reports on the four following issues: renewable energy, desertification and climate change, small and medium enterprises and cultural heritage.

Objectives

The objective of ARLEM is to give local and regional representatives of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership an opportunity to establish direct dialogue with the European institutions and the Union for the Mediterranean. According to the Committee of the Regions, increased involvement of local and regional authorities in this process is of vital importance, since they are closest to the people, and thus best placed to produce tangible solutions to their everyday problems.

This forum provides structured visibility and follow-up for the on-the-ground realities of relations between the EU and its Southern and Eastern Mediterranean partners in the areas of trade, economic co-operation agreements, and the promotion of job creation and cultural interface.

ARLEM is a response to the request to put the role of regional and local authorities in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership on an institutional footing. It therefore gives the partnership a territorial dimension and seeks to involve local and regional authorities more closely in the specific projects of the Union for the Mediterranean.

Organisation

The structure of ARLEM is twofold, along the lines of what was done at the national parliamentary level with the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly. It is composed of 80 members:

The EU delegation is composed of members of the Committee of the Regions (32) and representatives of European and international associations engaged in Euro-Mediterranean co-operation (8) (AER, AEBR, CEMR, CPMR, COPPEM, Medcities, UCLG).

The delegation of the Mediterranean partners is composed of 40 representatives of local and regional authorities appointed by the national governments.

References

References

1. https://rm.coe.int/1680718b76
2. link. (16 July 2011)
3. [http://europa.eu/eucalendar/event/id/2087/mode/standalone Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly]{{dead link. (October 2016)
4. "Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly meetings in Agadir".
5. link. (8 July 2011)
6. [http://www.cities-localgovernments.org/news.asp?IdNews=2818934c586f88595e37aaec1023681e6b8a0fb90219ec9bca7c5d6c1e65cc23 Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly meetings in Agadir]