Foreign minister: 'Catalonia is committed to promoting the Mediterranean Macro-region'

"Catalonia is committed to promoting the Mediterranean Macro-region," foreign action minister Victòria Alsina said on Thursday as she attended the second day of the 2022 MedCat Days initiative in Barcelona.

Geostrategic macro-regions are multi-level structures the European Commission recommends creating among states, sub-state actors, cities, and civil society with shared challenges. These already exist in the Baltics, the Danube, the Alps as well as in the Adriatic-Ionian region.  

According to Alsina, one is necessary for the Mediterranean to "foster greater cooperation" between communities located on both shores.

It will need "financial support and to work as an open and agile platform beyond borders, sectors, and governance levels," she said. 

This will be key to "backing joint solutions to improve competitiveness and socio-economic development in the territory." 

Catalonia, a Mediterranean hub

The 2022 MedCat Days is taking place in Barcelona from March 23 to 25 as well as in November with political, social, and economic leaders from both sides of the Mediterranean. 

Organized by the foreign action department and European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed), the event seeks to be "a space for reflection" with workshops and meetings both in-person at the Pedralbes Palace Gardens in the Catalan capital as well as online.

Workshop topics include subjects such as sustainable development and the circular economy or inclusivity across the region. 

"A stronger alliance between both shores is a strategic imperative," Alsina maintained. "We'll either make it together or we won't make it."

A fifth of all of Catalonia's foreign residents are North African, while just under a third of Catalonia's international commerce is carried out with businesses in the Mediterranean region.