Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation

Regular meetings, conferences and special events are the framework for the OSCE-Mediterranean partnership. This includes the participation of the Partners as observers in the meetings of the Ministerial Council and, on the margins, with the OSCE Ministerial Troika and the Secretary General. They are also regularly invited as observers in Permanent Council and Forum for Security Co-operation meetings and actively take part in other annual OSCE events, such as the Annual Security Review Conference, Economic and Environmental Forum, Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, Annual Implementation Assessment Meeting, and the Annual and Winter Sessions of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. Special side events for the Mediterranean Partners are frequently organized on these occasions, while the Parliamentary Assembly holds an annual Parliamentary Forum on the Mediterranean.

The Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation are also regularly invited to send observers to electoral missions of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and to second staff members on a voluntary basis to OSCE field operations.

At the 1994 Budapest Summit, the participating States created a Contact Group for the Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation, which in 2019 was renamed the OSCE Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation Group. This informal group meets periodically to facilitate the interchange of information and the generation of ideas.

On an annual basis, the OSCE holds a conference with the Mediterranean Partners, allowing the participants to exchange views and further develop the OSCE's relationship with its Partners. Over the years, the event has attracted increased political attention and become a high-level platform for regional dialogue between the OSCE and the Mediterranean Partners. The annual conferences are also attended by other international organizations, parliamentarians, academics and non-governmental organizations, allowing for a broader, non-siloed debate about ideas and recommendations.

This broader and more inclusive approach is reflected in several initiatives that were born as a result of the intensive OSCE-Mediterranean relationship. These aimed at engaging diplomats, academics, researchers and civil society representatives in a dialogue about the future of comprehensive security in the Mediterranean region. One example of such an initiative is the independent New-Med network, which produced a number of think-tank events and publications relevant to the evolving dialogue and co-operation between the OSCE and its Mediterranean Partners.

The idea that security in Europe is closely linked to that of States in its Mediterranean neighbourhood, goes back to the Helsinki negotiations in the early 1970s. The 1975 Helsinki Final Act dedicated one chapter to this relationship, detailing such issues as human contacts, information exchange and the work of the media, as well as co-operation on cultural exchanges and education.

From the beginning, this special relationship included Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. Important CSCECSCE
Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe/OSCE documents following the Helsinki negotiations further underscored the concept, such as the Istanbul Charter for European Security and the Maastricht OSCE Strategy to Address Threats to Security and Stability in the XXI Century. The Milan Ministerial Council in 2018 adopted the Declaration on Security and Co-operation in the Mediterranean, which states that the link between the security of the two regions “has become all the more relevant, as has our co-operation with our Mediterranean Partners, given the growing range of challenges and opportunities stemming from the Mediterranean region and beyond”.

Over the years, the Organization has shared its experience with the Mediterranean Partners on a variety of topics, adapting its agenda to the evolving security context. Initiatives and projects tailored to the Partners’ needs were also developed, including on:

• the environment-security nexus;
• economic empowerment of women;
• youth engagement and participation;
• the fight against terrorism and against trafficking of human beings;
• co-operation on ICT/cyber-security issues; and
• migration and integration policies