Representatives of 20 countries of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) met in Berlin at the 15th Regional Platform on Employment and Labour. The discussion involved representatives of social partners and focused on youth employment as well as on the state-of-play of the implementation of the 2022 UfM Marrakech Ministerial Declaration and the new declaration to be issued in 2024

The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) held its 15th Meeting of the Regional Platform on Employment and Labour on 30 November and 1 December 2023 in Berlin, Germany, back-to-back with a session on the UfM Community of Practices on Monitoring held on 29 November 2023.

There was a high number of UfM Member States represented (20 in total, including 10 EU Member States, 9 Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries and Mauritania).

The UfM Co-Presidency (EMPL and Jordan) acknowledged the spillover effects of the recent developments on the labour market and stressed the importance of a continuous dialogue.

As regards the UfM monitoring exercise, France will fully join the exercise as from January 2024. Belgium confirmed that they will join after the Presidency of the Council of the EU.

During the first day, discussions on youth employment involging involved UfM Member States, the European Training Foundation, the UfM Secretariat, and the Mediterranean Network of Second Chance Schools

In addition to the presentation of the implementation of the priorities of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU, the programme included field visits to the Youth Employment Agency, Regional Future Center Berlin, and the Equal Opportunities Office of the Federal Employment Agency.

The second day was dedicated to debriefing on the field visits and to the implementation of the Marrakech Ministerial Declaration. Perspectives from UfM Member States, regional organisations and projects and Social Partners were shared with the participants towards identifying best practices and building meaningful complementarities.

In addition, the participants listened to a debriefing on the recent UfM events on Youth Entrepreneurship (Tirana) and Social Economy (Barcelona), as well as the Social Dialogue Forum (Marseille).

Background

Twice a year, the UfM Regional Platform on Employment and Labour brings together representatives from employment and labour Ministries and agencies of the UfM Member States as well as representatives from European institutions/agencies and international organisations to discuss the current realities and follow up on the implementation of relevant Ministerial Declarations.