Towards a Euro-Mediterranean Higher Education and Research Area

The Euro-Mediterranean partnership work plan agreed by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Tampere (November 2006), includes the idea of organising the First EuroMed Ministerial Conference on Higher Education and Research, which represented a landmark step.

Guidelines for the improvement of Higher Education and Research were develop by the inclusion of specific actions in the 5 Year work plan adopted at the Barcelona Summit of Heads of State and Government, in November 2005. The work plan recognised the crucial role of education for political, social and economic development, as well as the importance of the scientific research, innovation and human resources development as a key to modernization.

The Ministerial Conference took place in Cairo on 18 June 2007. The “Cairo Declaration ” states the main objective of creation a Euro-Mediterranean Higher Education and Scientific Research Area.

An Ad Hoc working group at expert’s level has been created with a view to implementing the conference objectives, deliverables and actions. The first meeting took place in Brussels, on 5 June 2008.

Since November 1995, a Monitoring Committee for Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation in the field of research and technology (MoCo) exists to stimulate the Euro-Med Cooperation in RTD in the wider process of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership and the setting-up of ERA opened to the Mediterranean.

The second EuroMed Ministerial Conference will be held in 2009 to assess the achievements made in this regard, as well as promoting further co-operation.

The European Commission’s programmes TEMPUS and the Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window will be capital in the work towards this objective.

On 9 June 2008, the First Euro-Mediterranean University was established in Piran (Slovenia)