The European Commission is determined to strengthen ties between the EU and its Mediterranean neighbours, which together form the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM).
As part of this effort, the Commission hosted a meeting in June to review objectives that will benefit the UfM and, importantly, improve the environment for SMEs both inside and outside the EU.
Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), a partnership between Europe and third countries in the Mediterranean (MED) region, is promoting shared prosperity by fostering industrial cooperation among EU Member States and their MED neighbours.
A crucial element of this collaboration is small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which play a vital role in economic development and job creation in both the EU and MED region. SME development was therefore a key component of a June 2013 meeting in Brussels, which was organised by the European Commission and focused on Euro-Mediterranean industrial cooperation.
Daniel Calleja, Director General of DG Enterprise and Industry and the EU’s SME Envoy, presented the four objectives of the 2013-2014 Work Programme