The SI Mediterranean Committee convened in Rome on 6-7 March at a meeting hosted by the Democratic Party of the Left, PDS and was chaired by Raimon Obiols, Spanish Socialist Workers Party, PSOE. Participants from some fifteen countries from the Mediterranean region attended.
The Committee continued its discussions on the Euro-Mediterranean relationship and agreed a resolution which reaffirmed its commitment to the association agreements and called for their ratification and a relaunching of the process agreed at the 1995 Barcelona Conference. The Committee underlined the commitment of all SI-member parties in the region to the partnership and reiterated that this process should be implemented in its entirety, so respecting its three essential components: the political and security, the economic and social, and the cultural cooperation aspects.
In its resolution, the Committee also expressed its concern at the tragedy of the Algerian people and stated its hopes for a dialogue to be established between those forces which reject and unreservedly condemn violence and terrorism. The Committee also considered the new political phase in Morocco and issued a motion of support to the USFP and the Moroccan democratic forces, which congratulated SI-member Socialist Union of Popular Forces, USFP, on forming the new government. The Committee extended its best wishes to the new prime minister, Abderrahmane Youssoufi, leader of the USFP.