Excellencies, distinguished guests, colleagues, students, dear friends of the Mediterranean,
It is a great honour to welcome you to the European Parliament for this high-level conference dedicated to the role of higher education in shaping the future of Euro–Southern Mediterranean relations.
A special welcome is extended to the representatives of the Ministry of Higher Education and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia; to Member of the European Parliament Vladimir Prebilič; to representatives of the European Commission and the Union for the Mediterranean; to representatives of European and Arab higher-education institutions; to rectors, professors, and researchers; and, in particular, to the students. Ultimately, every policy discussed at this conference is designed for them.
This conference takes place in Brussels, at the heart of European decision-making, with a clear and deliberate purpose: to affirm that education, research, and innovation are the strongest bridges that can be built across the Mediterranean. Education represents Europe’s most powerful form of soft power, and at a time of profound transformation and uncertainty, the Mediterranean requires this soft power more than ever.
The organisers wish to express sincere appreciation to the conference co-organisers: the Euro-Mediterranean University of Fes, under the leadership of its President, Dr. Bousmina, and the Slovenian Business and Research Association, led by its President, Dr. Veselinovič.
1. A Turning Point for the Mediterranean
The Mediterranean region is characterised by one of the strongest demographic contrasts in the world. On its southern shores, a rapidly growing and increasingly educated youth population is emerging. On its northern shores, Europe faces demographic ageing and an acute need for talent.
This contrast carries both risk and opportunity. Without strategic cooperation, it may generate instability, unregulated migration, and social frustration. With courage, vision, and sustained cooperation, however, it can become one of the most significant opportunities for shared prosperity of the present generation.
At this critical juncture, higher education must not be viewed as a sectoral policy. It constitutes a geopolitical priority. Higher education shapes values, contributes to social stability, creates economic opportunity, and builds bridges in contexts where traditional diplomacy may encounter limitations.
2. Contributing to the Action Plan of the Pact for the Mediterranean
This conference is not a symbolic event. It is conceived as a working meeting of institutions that possess both the capacity to influence policy and the responsibility to deliver tangible outcomes.
The central objective is to contribute substantively to the development of a strong, realistic, and actionable Action Plan for the Pact for the Mediterranean. Participants are encouraged to propose concrete policy instruments and operational measures.
The discussions focus on:
- strengthening university alliances across the Mediterranean;
- ensuring that academic mobility becomes more inclusive and more equitable;
- facilitating a transition from brain drain to brain circulation;
- linking research and innovation more effectively to societal needs;
- empowering youth and women as key agents of change;
- establishing structured and mutually beneficial cooperation between Europe, the Southern Mediterranean, and the Gulf; and
- in the longer term, building a Euro-Mediterranean Higher Education Area from the bottom up.
These objectives extend beyond universities alone. They form part of a broader project aimed at regional stability, economic development, and long-term peace.
3. Towards a New Chapter of the Barcelona Process
Nearly three decades ago, the Barcelona Process articulated a vision of partnership and shared development across the Mediterranean. Since then, the Barcelona Process and the Union for the Mediterranean have advanced political dialogue, economic cooperation, and cultural exchange.
However, higher education and research—despite their central role in developing skills, fostering mutual understanding, and expanding opportunity—remain underutilised instruments within this framework. The Mediterranean region requires a renewed chapter characterised by long-term, structured, and institutionalised cooperation.
The Pact for the Mediterranean should represent this next stage: an evolution of the Barcelona Process grounded in knowledge, people-to-people engagement, and institutional partnerships.
4. EMUNI University as a Living Pillar of Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation
The Euro-Mediterranean University (EMUNI) was established as a living pillar of this vision: a bridge built not of physical infrastructure, but of partnerships.
Its mission is to connect the Mediterranean through knowledge and to translate ideas into action. EMUNI brings together universities, researchers, and students from both shores of the Mediterranean, fostering alliances, joint programmes, and shared research initiatives. In doing so, it converts political ambition into practical academic cooperation.
EMUNI stands ready to strengthen its role as a potential entrusted partner of the European Commission in implementing the higher-education dimension of the Pact for the Mediterranean. With its networks, institutional experience, and regional presence, EMUNI is prepared to contribute actively to transforming the Pact into concrete outcomes.
5. Proposals to the European Commission
To ensure that today’s discussions lead to tangible results, two proposals are advanced.
First, a long-term institutional partnership between the European Commission and university networks such as EMUNI, EUROMED, UNIMED, and others is proposed. This partnership could be formalised through a Multiannual Framework Agreement for the period 2025–2032, providing stability, predictability, and strategic continuity beyond short-term project cycles.
Second, it is proposed that the European Commission formally entrust EMUNI and other networks with specific tasks related to the Pact for the Mediterranean. These tasks could include:
- coordinating university alliances and institutional partnerships across the Mediterranean;
- managing regional mobility schemes in both North–South and South–North directions, ensuring that mobility functions as opportunity rather than forced migration;
- launching pilot research and innovation calls for Southern Mediterranean universities and research centres, with a focus on climate action, water management, digital transformation, renewable energy, entrepreneurship and employment, and societal and climate resilience.
Through such arrangements, Euro-Mediterranean university networks could serve as the European Union’s principal implementing platform for the development of a shared Euro-Mediterranean Knowledge Space.
6. A Message to University Partners
Universities constitute the core of this process. Their students, professors, researchers, and institutional creativity give substance to cooperation.
Universities are invited to join EMUNI in developing new alliances, joint study programmes, and shared research initiatives. Academic mobility should be understood not as migration, but as knowledge in motion—returning skills, partnerships, and mutual understanding that strengthen societies on both shores of the Mediterranean.
Collaboration in innovation, digitalisation, green technologies, and cultural dialogue can transform the Mediterranean into a laboratory for cooperation and sustainable growth. The recommendations emerging from this conference will contribute to the people-to-people dimension of the Action Plan guiding the Pact for the Mediterranean from 2026 onwards.
Conclusion
The Mediterranean has long been described as the place where continents meet. It should also be recognised as the place where knowledge meets—where talent circulates, research connects societies, alliances create opportunity, and education serves as a foundation for peace.
The Pact for the Mediterranean provides a strategic framework, but its success will depend on people: policymakers, researchers, professors, and students. EMUNI stands ready to contribute to this collective effort with ambition, responsibility, and partnership.
The next thirty years of Euro–Mediterranean cooperation can become a story defined by knowledge, innovation, and shared prosperity. The Mediterranean should not be perceived as a dividing sea, but as a common space of learning, creativity, and peace.