Portuguese prime minister Luís Montenegro is in Slovenia today for the 12th MED9 summit, which brings together leaders from the EU’s south to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Europe’s competitiveness.
The summit – which, in addition to Portugal, includes heads of government and state from Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Malta, Italy, Slovenia and Spain – is being held in the Slovenian city of Portoroz.
According to Lusa, “the organisation wants to discuss what it says are the current ‘intolerable conditions’ in the Gaza Strip, days after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas, based on the 20-point plan presented by US President Donald Trump to end the war unleashed on October 7, 2023”.
King Abdullah II of Jordan and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will be guests at today’s summit, which involves a working meeting in the morning to discuss European matters (competitiveness/ the EU’s next multiannual financial framework/ the energy transition/ labour and migration – including attracting and retaining talent).
The crisis in the Middle East will be discussed at a lunch meeting (this is where the King of Jordan will be taking part).
Two documents are scheduled to emerge from the summit: the Portoroz Declaration of MED9 2025, and a joint declaration on the Middle East, signed by the King of Jordan and the leaders of MED9 states.
In the late afternoon, after work has finished, a joint press conference is scheduled for all the southern EU leaders, at which each leader will answer a question from their national press.
Luís Montenegro is also expected to speak to Portuguese journalists on the sidelines of the event, says Lusa.
This summit takes place days before a European Council meeting scheduled for October 23 and 24 in Brussels, which will also address the Middle East situation.
At the 2024 edition, held in October in the Cypriot city of Paphos, the agenda was already dominated by the conflict in the Middle East – particularly the escalation of tensions between Israel and Lebanon.
Created in 2013, the MED9 alliance brings together nine member states of the Mediterranean basin, the euro, and the Schengen area (except for Cyprus).
Source: Lusa
