On the margins of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, the Foreign Ministers of the seven Mediterranean countries of the European Union – Greece, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Malta – met on Monday, 16 December, at the offices of the Cypriot Representation and decided to set up the Med Group, which will function as a network for coordination and joint initiatives on all the issues within the competency of the Foreign Affairs Council and the EU in general.
Coordination of the Med Group will be carried out on the level of Permanent Representatives, as well as Foreign Ministers, before the meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council or, if possible, in an additional annual informal meeting of Foreign Ministers. When one of the countries in the Group holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU, that country will also coordinate the Med Group. Thus, Greece, which will hold the upcoming Presidency of the Council of the EU, will also be coordinating the Med Group in the first half of 2014.
December 17, 2013