The 8th Euro-Mediterranean Conference was held at Tampere in Finland on 27/28 November. Ministers of Foreign Affairs met to discuss Euro-Mediterranean issues in the presence of representatives of the EU, candidate and associate countries, North African and Middle Eastern states that signed the Barcelona Declaration, the Arab League and the Anna Lindh Foundation. The eleven-page Conclusions begin with confirmation on the part of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership “of their commitment to the achievement of a common area of shared peace, stability and prosperity in the Mediterranean region”. The participants also underline their determination to pursue a lasting solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict on the basis of UN Resolutions and the Road Map. The Foreign ministers also tackled issues relating to terrorism (on the basis of the Euromed Code of Conduct on the Fight against Terrorism), trade (with the objective of achieving a Euromed free-trade zone by 2010), energy, transport, environment and tourism, education, social development, and the information society. Particular attention was focused on dialogue between cultures and the role of the Anna Lindh Foundation, the need to reinforce the role of women in society and the themes of “migration, social integration, justice and security”.
