COPPEM Standing Committee Euro Mediterranean Partnership of the Local and Regional Authorities

Barcelona Declaration, November 1995 In the Declaration, the Euro-Mediterranean partners established the three main objectives of the Partnership: 1. The definition of a common area of peace and stability through the reinforcement of political and security dialogue (Political and Security Chapter). 2. The construction of a zone of shared prosperity through an economic and financial partnership and the gradual establishment of a free-trade area (Economic and Financial Chapter). 3. The rapprochement between peoples through a social, cultural and human partnership aimed at encouraging understanding between cultures and exchanges between Civil Societies Social, Cultural and Human Chapter). COPPEM Office in

Established in 2000 upon the initiative of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) and the Association of Arab Towns (ATO) It is composed of 101 full Members and of 101 alternate Members, representing Municipalities, Provinces, Local Authorities and Regions of the 37 Euro-Mediterranean Countries, for this purposes appointed by their national Associations The Barcelona Declaration objectives as fundament Secretariat in Palermo, Sicily COPPEM COPPEM Office in

COPPEM idea In the same time the cooperation among the governments of the Euro-Mediterranean countries needs to be strenghten and supported by the close cooperation among the local and regional authorities of the countries Even the strong conflict on national level does not necessarily mean that the local people cannot cooperate (e.g. Israel – Palestine Autonomy) People from countries of a different cultural, religious and mentality background may exchange experience, integrate and work together agains the stereotypes COPPEM Office in

COPPEM main goals strong involvement of the local and regional authorities in the Euro- Mediterranean region to realize in particular the following objectives: a) to promote democracy, human rights, sound government and the State of rights; b) to encourage members to participate in the regional collaboration; c) to work towards the consolidation of peace in the region, economic integration and the mutual understanding between the civil societies; d) to foster the development and reinforce- ment of the democratic institutions, by lending support to non-government subjects of the region COPPEM Office in

Main financing source – the government of the Region of Sicily, additionally funds from the European projects in which COPPEM participates Yearly budget ca. 1 million Euro COPPEM finances COPPEM Office in

COPPEM Structure Presidency Bureau President – Salvatore Cuffaro, President of the Sicilian Region Deputy Vice President – Omar Bahraoui, Mayor of Rabat, Morocco Vice Presidents – Adly Hussein, Egypt - Andrzej Porawski, Poland - Nikolas Papamikroulis, Greece - Nourredine Sbia, Algeria - Muzaffer Baca, Turkey Secretary General – Carmelo Motta, Italy COPPEM Office in

COPPEM Commissions I Commission – Political and Institutional II Commission – For the Cooperation between Cities and Regions III Commission – For the economic and Financial Cooperation IV Commission – For Culture, Technology, Tourism and Environment V Commission - For Gender Equality COPPEM Office in

COPPEM Representative Offices Cairo, Egypt Eilat, Israel Istanbul, Turkey Poznań, Poland Rabat, Morocco Ramallah, Palestine Autonomy Soon to be opened: Brussels, Belgium Amman, Jordan COPPEM Office in

COPPEM Members from EEC Bulgaria2 persons Czech Republic2 persons Estonia2 persons Hungary3 persons Latvia1 person Lithuania2 persons Poland4 persons Romania1 person Slovakia2 persons Slovenia 2 persons COPPEM Office in

COPPEM Representative Office for Poland and Eastern European Countries in Poznań Association of Polish Cities ul. Robocza 46 A Poznań, Poland tel fax mobile: COPPEM Office in

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