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Press release of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Marseille, 29 March 2000
N° 2


THIRD INTER-PARLIAMENTARY CONFERENCE ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN THE MEDITERRANEAN (CSCM) IN MARSEILLES: MORE THAN 200 DELEGATES FOR THE FUTURE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN

More than two hundred delegates, including a number of presiding officers of national parliaments, from 20 countries bordering on or adjacent to the Mediterranean are meeting in Marseilles for four days, the occasion being the Third Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Security and Cooperation in the Mediterranean at the Hôtel de Région from 31 March to 3 April.

The Conference will be preceded, on Thursday, 30 March, from 4 to 6.30 p.m., by a meeting of Mediterranean Women Parliamentarians who will discuss their specific role in strengthening security and developing cooperation in the Mediterranean: some twenty women MPs are expected to attend.

The introductory press conference, initially scheduled for 4 p.m., will be held on Thursday, 30 March, at 3.30 p.m. at the Hôtel de Région, salle Bergasse.

Overview of the Conference programme:

Friday, 31 March, from 10 a.m.: opening ceremony in the presence of Mr. Michel Vauzelle, President of the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur Region, Mr. Christian Poncelet, President of the French Senate, and Mr. Anders B. Johnsson, Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union; opening of the proceedings.

Friday, 31 March, 3 p.m.: plenary meeting: report of the meeting of women parliamentarians; presentation of the "Marseilles Declaration" prepared by the participants in the "Euro-Mediterranean Partnership Meetings"; address by Mr. Hubert Védrine, French Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Saturday, 1 April, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m./3 to 6 p.m.: plenary meeting, continuation of the general debate.

Sunday, 2 April: meeting in closed session of the committees drafting the Final Document.

Monday, 3 April, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: plenary meeting in closed session.

Monday, 3 April, 4 p.m.: closing press conference.

Monday, 3 April, 5 to 6.30 p.m.: plenary meeting: report of the coordinating committee and adoption of the Final Document; closure of the Conference.

During the four-day Conference, the delegates will try to identify ways in which the Conference on Security and Cooperation in the Mediterranean can assist in promoting dialogue between the countries on the shores of the Mediterranean, dispelling fears and misunderstanding among the partners stemming, for example, from the enlargement of the European Union and long-term plans for a free trade area. The issues to be addressed by the Third CSCM include problems arising from migratory flows, the management of water resources and the degradation of the Mediterranean environment. The results of the Conference may offer guidance to the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the countries participating in the Barcelona Process to be held, on the initiative of France, in Marseilles in November 2000.

Contacts and accreditation: in Marseilles, international press: Ms. Luisa Ballin, IPU press officer, tel. (41.79) 649.71.45 or (00 33 4) 91.57.53.82, fax (00 33 4) 91.57.53.81, e.mail lb@mail.ipu.org or cd@mail.ipu.org - local press: Mr. Jean Fleury, press officer for the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region, tel. (00 33 4) 91.57.51.64, fax (00 33 4) 91.57.51.53, e-mail jfleury@hdr.cr-paca.fr - in Paris, national press: Ms. Sylvie Mariage, press officer at the National Assembly, Foreign Affairs Department, tel. (00 33 1) 40.63.91.90, fax (00 33 1) 40.63.86.81, e-mail smariage@assemblee-nationale.fr
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