the EU bank

SESSION I :

The Barcelona Process - achievements, prospects and priorities for economic action

The Barcelona Conference of 1995 agreed on a Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, including political dialogue among the 27 partners, cooperation in social and cultural affairs, establishment of a free trade area by the year 2010, as well as financial cooperation through grant aid from the European Union’s MEDA Programme and substantial loans from the European Investment Bank. In the meantime, certain progress has been achieved, particularly in setting up institutions for cooperation. However, it seems that economic development in most partner countries is still fragile. Investment and economic growth have remained weak, while economic reform, including legal and regulatory aspects, is slow. This session will assess progress achieved in different parts of the region and look at driving forces for, along with stumbling blocks to, closer partnership, free trade with the EU and among Mediterranean Countries and the latter’s integration into the world economy.

SESSION II :

Investment and Finance

SUB-SESSION 1 :

What bottlenecks are affecting economic development?

This sub-session will examine investment needs in different sectors, particularly infrastructure (water, energy, transport, environment, human capital), and investigate the issue of infrastructure planning for the MED region as a whole. It will further discuss problems in implementing projects along with policies that need to accompany infrastructure investment in order to reap its full benefits.

SUB-SESSION 2 :

How to Finance Development

This sub-session will look at the region’s financial sector and prospects for further reform. It will examine bottlenecks in financing infrastructure as well as industrial investment by larger and smaller companies.