European Parliament President Roberta Metsola chaired the meeting of the EP Delegation to the Union for the Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly. In her speech, she also spoke about the war in Ukraine and its impacts on the Mediterranean region.
© European Union | European Parliament President Roberta Metsola addressing the meeting of the European Parliament's Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean
Opening address at the meeting of the European Parliament's Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean
Dear President, dear Colleagues, good afternoon to everyone. I welcome all of you to this meeting of the Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean
Today is the first meeting of the Delegation to the Union for the Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly since the Speaker’s Summit, and last December’s plenary session, which marked the handover of the Presidency of the Assembly from the European to the Moroccan Parliament.
This is why I am particularly pleased to welcome His Excellency Mr RACHID TALBI ALAMI, Speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives, and President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean. Together, we will discuss the dramatic war in Ukraine, which affects both sides of the Mediterranean, and of course the political priorities of the Moroccan presidency.
Once again, dear President Alami you are warmly welcome amongst us!
I also invited all the Delegation Chairs of the Mediterranean region to join our debate.
Interpretation is available in French, English, Italian, Spanish, and Arabic for this meeting. Unfortunately, due to technical reasons, it was not possible to provide interpretation in German. Sorry for this and thanks for your understanding.
This morning, I met with President Talbi Alami bilaterally. We discussed several issues: the priorities of the Moroccan presidency, the Assembly’s calendar of activities, as well as the repercussions of the war in Ukraine on the Mediterranean region.
Before giving the floor to our guest, allow me to make some preliminary remarks.
Last December, the European Parliament was able to organise the 7th Speakers’ summit and the 16th Union for the Mediterranean plenary session as well as all the meetings of the parliamentary committees in Brussels despite the sanitary conditions imposed on us by the pandemic. The active participation of MEPs, Speakers of Parliaments, and National Delegation members ensured, let’s say, lively, interesting and – sometimes – quite heated debates.
The plenary adopted the recommendations of four committees. Speakers and delegates attending the summit adopted, by consensus, a joint declaration on the fight against climate change in the Mediterranean. Under the presidency of the European Parliament, we successfully adopted a revision of the Rules of Procedures, a new financial regulation, the budget for 2021-2022, and we also setup a permanent secretariat for the Union for the Mediterranean based in Rome.
This means that with thanks to the support of the other Bureau members - Morocco and Spain - we achieved the objective we had set at the beginning of our presidency: to give new impetus to the Assembly following a year of inactivity. In this context, I would like to underline the firm and much missed commitment to the Euro-Mediterranean dialogue of my much appreciated predecessor, President David Sassoli. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean Speakers’ summit in December last year was one of the last meetings he chaired at the European Parliament, where he is really very dearly missed.
Dear President Talbi Alami,
We are facing complicated times as the destiny of the Mediterranean region is impacted by the war in Ukraine.
The European Parliament has taken a very firm position. We condemn the Russian military aggression against Ukraine in the strongest possible terms and call for continued humanitarian support for Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees. The Russian attack is an attack not only on a sovereign nation, but also an attack on democracy, and ultimately, on elected parliaments. It is an illegal violation of our contemporary international order.
Evidently, the Mediterranean region is affected by the conflict: The Black Sea basin has become a flashpoint. Its economy is still suffering from the consequences of the pandemic, and disruptions in supply chains. There are serious implications for our energy security in the medium and long term given that some Member States are entirely dependent on Russian gas. Ukraine exports 95% of its grain through the Black Sea and, in the last two years, more than 50% of its wheat exports went to the Middle East and North Africa. Therefore, a disruption would have, before I say will have, dire consequences for food security in many already-fragile Mediterranean countries.
Mr. President,
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean should join the diplomatic call for de-escalation the situation in order to restore international peace and security.
We are all interested in hearing your views - in particular, what initiatives you are planning for our Assembly to take action and of course, what other priorities will mark your presidency.