Three are the operational factors behind the plan for the Euro-Mediterranean Union which will be launched on 13th July in Paris: "A political mobilisation at the highest level, with summits of heads of state and government, every two years; a governance on an egalitarian basis embodied by a north-south presidency and an equal permanent secretariat; priority given to effective region-wide plans that create actual solidarity". The 27 leaders of the EU member states, the 12 leaders of the Mediterranean countries that have fully endorsed the Barcelona Process, "the other 4 countries of the region as well as the leaders of the main international and regional organisations", will be at Grand Palais, hosted by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The summit includes an afternoon discussion "ending with the adoption of the first big concrete plans of the Union". The agenda includes: environmental and energy issues, "with proposals for the decontamination of the Mediterranean Sea"; responses to the escalation of natural risks and the lack of transport infrastructure; "the challenges of economic and social development", including migration; security. (continued)
