Tomorrow (Thursday, 25 June) Minister of State for Europe Günter Gloser will attend a ministerial meeting of the Union for the Mediterranean in Paris. The focus of the meeting will be sustainable development. At the meeting the member states plan to coordinate further projects concerning energy and the Solar Plan, water, transport and urban development.

The Solar Plan is a project initiated by the German Government within the Union for the Mediterranean. The Solar Plan aims to create the right conditions for the increased use of renewable energy as well as for efficient energy consumption.

The Union for the Mediterranean is a continuation of the Barcelona Process launched in 1995. Alongside the European Neighbourhood Policy, it is one of the central pillars of EU-Mediterranean relations. The common aim is to make the Mediterranean a region of peace, stability and prosperity. Concrete projects aimed at tackling the Mediterranean's existing challenges are to be implemented to that end as part of an equal partnership. At the same time, the Union for the Mediterranean serves as a forum for trust-based, open and constructive dialogue.