Dear Carlo Fidanza and Nicola Procaccini,
Honourable Members,
Distinguished guests,
Thank you so much for the invitation and the opportunity to address you today.
It is a great pleasure to discuss with you the vision of strengthening the partnership between the European Union and Africa - and in particular with our Mediterranean neighbours.
With the Pact for the Mediterranean – adopted a month ago – we are scaling up our cooperation with the countries of the Middle East and North Africa.
We want to achieve sustainable socio-economic development together.
This will benefit European companies and people alike.
There is a joint determination on both sides that the Pact needs to deliver tangible benefits.
For everyone around the Mediterranean.
Our Pact builds on the Global Gateway and other initiatives of the European Union.
The focus is on energy, digital and transport connectivity, and human capital – the same pillars Italys Mattei Plan is based on.
Italys Mattei Plan for Africa, Global Gateway, and the Pact for the Mediterranean share the same DNA.
They are built on partnership, sustainability, and win-win opportunities.
They aim to foster prosperity and stability by investing in people – such as education and skills – and sustainable infrastructure – such as energy, water resilience, and digital or transport connectivity.
So, we are talking about complementary engines driving the same ambitions.
And I am glad that Prime Minister Meloni and Commission President von der Leyen reaffirmed this aligned partnership in June.
The message was clear:
We both aim to create quality jobs and sustainable development across the Mediterranean and Africa.
With the Pact for the Mediterranean, we are going to build on our strong track record of Global Gateway in the Southern Mediterranean.
Since 2021, we have rolled out more than 6 billion Euro of European Union support.
What is important is that we are leveraging private investment at a large scale.
And if we count together investments the Union has supported and those backed by the Member States, the EIB and the EBRD, we will arrive at a total of more than 77 billion Euro of mobilised investments by the end of last year.
These are not just figures.
We are delivering real change.
Projects are being implemented, financing is flowing, momentum is building – and most importantly, peoples lives are being improved.
Let me briefly mention two Global Gateway flagships in the Mediterranean:
The Medusa Submarine Cable system.
It connects both shores of the Mediterranean.
It not only enhances digital connectivity, but empowers universities, entrepreneurs, and young innovators with access to global markets.
Announced two years ago at the Global Gateway Forum, the implementation of Medusa has made big progress: the cable has landed in Marseille.
And we are extending the connection to Jordan and potentially to Lebanon.
We are opening new opportunities for regional entrepreneurship and innovation.
In Jordan, we are tackling the countrys acute water security. The Aqaba-Amman Water Desalination project will take water from the Red Sea, desalinate it, and channel it 450 kilometres north to the capital Amman and its surroundings.
And this is also where our new initiative, T-MED, comes in.
The Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy and Clean Tech Cooperation Initiative will boost investments at scale in solar, wind, and green hydrogen – and in clean technologies across North Africa and the Middle East.
T-MED is going to deliver a triple win:
faster decarbonisation and more energy security,
increased competitiveness on all shores of the Mare Nostrum, and
quality jobs and inclusive socio-economic development.
Through an investment platform - which we see as a model also for other areas of economic cooperation - we are bringing together ready-to-go projects with public and private financing.
Here again, the synergies with the Mattei Plan are clear.
Their priorities are energy transition, vocational training, and partnerships with the private sector.
They see clean energy as an economic opportunity.
The Mattei Plan is perfectly aligned with our efforts to build a sustainable and connected Mediterranean.
And it is not a one-way approach.
We are doing it together with our Mediterranean partners in a partnership of equals.
It will be mutually beneficial.
The young people we educate.
The industries we help develop.
The technologies we boost.
All of this economic value-added is being created in the region, contributing to the young generations ‘right to stay.
Let me briefly touch upon the “right to stay”.
I believe it is a very important element for all of us everywhere in the European Union.
We need to take care of our rural areas.
They must be home to young people, families, farmers, SMEs.
The quality of life in rural areas does play a considerable role when people take decisions on where to live.
And to live a dignified life.
This is a question of the social fabric of our societies.
And a question also of territorial cohesion.
We cannot accept that regions suffer from depopulation over a longer term.
We can look at it from a competitiveness point of view and an opportunity for quality jobs.
It will be easier to attract talent
where housing is affordable,
where you have appealing outdoor leisure activities, and
where there is quality transport and digital connectivity, education, medical, and child-care infrastructure.
Dear colleagues,
Let me mention one element regarding the Pact for the Mediterranean in relation to education.
Since the topic ‘New opportunities regarding education is part of your discussion later this morning.
Several sources have been spreading disinformation on the objectives of the Pact for the Mediterranean.
False information is circulating arguing the Pact would become a channel to facilitate migration from our Southern Neighbourhood.
This simply is not true.
This is what we are planning to do:
We want to invest in exchanges among students and university staff, including researchers.
We are also planning to establish a true Mediterranean University including a strong role for European universities - from Milan or Naples or Rome, or from other universities.
This will benefit the economies in the European Union and in the Southern Neighbourhood.
But it will not facilitate migration from the South.
As you know, one of the pillars of the Pact for the Mediterranean is about security and migration management.
We are strengthening our cooperation on migration with our Southern partners – including on effective returns and readmission.
It is crucial that all Members of this House are well informed about this.
It would be regrettable if the spreading of misinformation about the real objectives of the Pact were to continue.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
To conclude,
at the end of the day, the success of Global Gateway, the Mattei Plan, and the Pact for the Mediterranean depends on our ability to deliver concrete projects and tangible results.
This is my top priority. And that of my services at DG MENA.
Together with our partners in the Southern Neighbourhood, we will continue to work closely with Italy, with all Member States, with this House, and with our financial institutions.
We want to ensure that our joint engagement translates into concrete opportunities for people and businesses.
Thank you so much for your engagement and dedication in this common undertaking.
