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THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

Nicosie Iniciative

The Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly, ARLEM, is an interregional organisation where the Region of Murcia is a member. It was created by the Committee of the Regions of Europe in 2010 and its aim is to provide the policies of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) with a territorial dimension. It is formed by elected representatives of regional and local authorities from the three shores of the Mediterranean.

Prior to the ARLEM plenary session in Nicosia on 19th January 2016, Libyan mayors submitted to CoR President Markku Markkula a list of priorities and actions that Libyan authorities needed to undertake in cooperation with potential colleagues from European local authorities and other ARLEM members.

Requests for cooperation include, most importantly, action on services of general interest which are provided on a regular basis by local authorities but are not currently being developed due to lack of budget and capacity.

Priorities are: the health sector, improvement of solid waste management, education and skills acquisition and access of Libyan students to European universities.

During the ARLEM Bureau meeting in Murcia on 3rd May, the president of the region made an offer to establish cooperation with the Libyan municipalities.

A Libyan delegation composed of three technicians visited Murcia on 31st May 2016 to gain an insight into the experience of the Region of Murcia in the field of water management and to assess future collaborations.

As a result, a training project was designed to organise a course for Libyan engineers on water resources management at the CIFEA (Integrated Centre for Training and Agricultural Experiences) in Molina de Segura, which was approved in the framework of the PAF II project, funded by the European Commission through the European Action Services, the Delegation of the European Union to Libya and Crown Agents, which is the organisation in charge of logistics and support for many of the study visits of the Nicosia Initiative to Europe. The course covered topics such as physical-chemical parameters of water, deodorization, sewage reuse and a visit to the Archena and Molina de Segura sewage treatment plants.

Simultaneously, the Region of Murcia has been supporting the Nicosia Initiative in different international forums, encouraging other European regions to take part in it, as in the case of the European Developments Days on 7th July and through the Committee of the Regions.