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Press Release
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Press Release
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Friends of the Earth challenges Euromed finance ministers to be coherent on sustainable development When Euromed Finance Ministers meet in Marrakech on June 19- 20 at the Euro-Mediterranean ECOFIN/FEMIP Ministerial to discuss the economic aspects of ten years of Barcelona, the economic challenges for the Euro-Mediterranean region, and the contribution of the European Neighbourhood Policy to a better investment climate , they should set their objectives as part of a wider goal of achieving sustainable development in the region, says Friends of the Earth (FoE) MedNet. FoE MedNet is the network of FoE national offices in the Mediterranean, working jointly to promote sustainable development regionally. FoE MedNet is advocating that EuroMed finance ministers should adopt measures ands strategies, which contribute to the implementation of the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development. Finance ministers should also give formal regional support to the UN Millennium Development Goals for 2015 and take full account of the recommendations of the on-going Sustainability Impact Assessment of the EuroMediterranean Free Trade Area in their deliberations. In the last meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs held in Luxemburg, 30-31May 2005, ministers mandated senior officials to further define economic reform and growth objectives to increase development and job creation in the Euro-Med region. Achieving these objectives requires investments to promote both sustainable development and South-South integration and cooperation. At FoE MedNet we believe that the Euromed finance ministers need to address the challenge of sustainable development regionally and nationally by mainstreaming environmental considerations into their national development plans and strategies. This means only financing development that is sustainable. The European Commission needs to play its part as well by providing more funding towards promotion of Sustainable Development nationally and regionally and in particularly through the European Neighbourhood Policy and its financial instruments. In this regard the Commission should support pilot-national projects in the South and Eastern Mediterranean countries, which demonstrate the benefits of a sustainable development approach to the future of Mediterranean citizens. Finally, while the European Commission annually dedicates 30 percent of its financial commitments to the region on economic activities and private sector development, the Commission spends less than 10 percent of its financial resources on environmental issues. We believe that the current approach on sustainable development is inadequate and needs to be better balanced.
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