The Euro-Mediterranean regional cooperation process started with the Barcelona Conference in 1995.
The Barcelona Declaration emphasises the importance of developing and improving infrastructures through the establishment of an efficient transport system.
Subsequent conferences of foreign ministers from 1997 to 2003 have recognised the importance of efficient transport links between the EU and its 12 Mediterranean Partners, and among the Mediterranean Partners themselves for the development of trade and economic flows.
The EU has developed a number of activities to support activities in the transport sector, in particular through the MEDA programme. These include several regional projects in the field of maritime transport and of statistics as well as the gradual establishment of the Euromed Transport Forum.
As a result of these developments, transport policy and infrastructure have now become key priorities for all parties involved in the economic and financial dimension of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership.
