EU Med Group

EU Med or EuroMed 7 or MED7,[3] or MED7, which is also referred to as "Club Med" and "Med Group", is an alliance of seven Southern European Union member states, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, and Spain. They have Greco-Roman heritage and, except for Portugal, are all part of the Mediterranean Region. All seven countries are also part of the eurozone, and all except Cyprus are part of the Schengen Area.

EUMED Group
EuroMed 7

Map of Europe indicating the member countries of the Med Group
Membership
Establishment17 December 2013
Area
• Total
1,679,994 km2 (648,649 sq mi)
Population
• 2019 estimate
 196,690,587[1]
• Density
117.1/km2 (303.3/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)2019 estimate
• Total
 $8.173 trillion[2] (4th)
GDP (nominal)2019 estimate
• Total
 $6.583 trillion[2] (3rd)

History

The Group was informally established on 17 December 2013 in Brussels at the initiative of the Foreign Ministers of Cyprus and Spain in order to create coordination on issues of common interest within the EU.[4]

It was decided that the group would hold an annual meeting at the ministerial level. The first ministerial meeting was to take place in Greece in 2014, during Greece's presidency of the Council, but instead took place on 14 April in Alicante.[5][6][7]

The second meeting took place in February 2015 in Paris.[8] The 3rd Ministerial Meeting of the Mediterranean Group took place in Cyprus in February 2016 which was also attended by the Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Fathallah Sijilmassi. The Foreign Ministers discussed security and stability issues in North Africa and the Middle East as well as the handling of the migration crisis.[9][10][11]

The Group held its 1st Southern EU countries' Summit on 9 September 2016 at the Zappeion Palace in Athens.[12] Following the summit, the Athens Declaration was issued calling for investment to tackle youth unemployment and support growth, as well as stronger EU cooperation on issues of security and migration.[13][14] The next summit is scheduled to take place in Spain, at the Royal Palace of El Pardo.[15]

The seventh meeting was made on 10 September 2020 in Porticcio, Corsica, and concerned Turkey's concurrent unilateral activities in the eastern Mediterranean.[16]

Members
List of member states
Arms Flag State Capital Code Population
(2019)[1]		 Area Population
density		 GDP (nominal)
US$ million
Cyprus Nicosia CY 875,898 9,251 km2
(3,572 sq mi)		 95/km2
(250/sq mi)		 24,565
France Paris FR 67,028,048 640,679 km2
(247,368 sq mi)		 105/km2
(270/sq mi)		 2,715,518
Greece Athens GR 10,722,287 131,990 km2
(50,960 sq mi)		 81/km2
(210/sq mi)		 209,853
Italy Rome IT 60,359,546 301,338 km2
(116,347 sq mi)		 200/km2
(520/sq mi)		 2,001,244
Malta Valletta MT 493,559 316 km2
(122 sq mi)		 1,562/km2
(4,050/sq mi)		 14,786
Portugal Lisbon PT 10,276,617 92,390 km2
(35,670 sq mi)		 111/km2
(290/sq mi)		 237,686
Spain Madrid ES 46,934,632 504,030 km2
(194,610 sq mi)		 93/km2
(240/sq mi)		 1,394,116
7 total 196,690,587 1,679,994 km2
(648,649 sq mi)		 117/km2
(300/sq mi)		 6,597,768

See also

References
  1. "Population on 1st January by age, sex and type of projection". Eurostat. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  2. "World Economic Outlook Database, 2019". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  3. Africa and the World: Navigating Shifting Geopolitics. The Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA). 2020. p. 236.
  4. "EuroMed 7: Η ταυτότητα και οι στόχοι της Συμμαχίας - Η Διακήρυξη του 2019 με φόντο τις τουρκικές προκλήσεις". enikos.gr. September 9, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  5. "FM participates in "Med Group" Meeting". Famagusta-gazette.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-17. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  6. "" Med Group " meeting at the initiative of Cyprus and Spain (Brussels – (...) - La France à Malte". Ambafrance-mt.org. 2013-12-30. Archived from the original on 2016-10-20. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  7. "Informal Ministerial Meeting of the Mediterranean Group: UfM presents latest updates on regional integration efforts - Union for the Mediterranean - UfM". Ufmsecretariat.org. 2014-04-16. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  8. "FM to attend Med Group ministerial meeting in Paris - ABNA-SE - The Association of the Balkan News Agencies – Southeast Europe". Abnaorg.eu. 2015-02-19. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-05-09. Retrieved 2016-09-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Ministerial Meeting of the "Med Group": UfM Secretary General presents state of play and perspectives for regional integration in the Mediterranean - Union for the Mediterranean - UfM". Ufmsecretariat.org. 2016-02-26. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  11. "Cyprus - 3rd informal Ministerial Meeting of the "Med Group" - Joint Communiqué (25-26.02.16) - France-Diplomatie - Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development". Diplomatie.gouv.fr. 2016-02-26. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  12. Kambas, Michele (2016-09-09). "EU Med nations hold summit on growth, EU paymasters question motive | Reuters". Uk.reuters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  13. Dr. Michael Ivanovitch (2016-09-11). "Bratislava EU talkfest will ignore pain in Club Med economies". Cnbc.com. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  14. Kostaki, Irene (2016-09-11). "Club Med does Bratislava". Neweurope.eu. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  15. "Spain to host southern EU leaders Brexit meeting". EURACTIV. March 30, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  16. "EU Med leaders threaten Turkey with sanctions for 'unilateral' actions in Mediterranean". seenews.com. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
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