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In the 1990s, the EU began to draw up the “New Mediterranean Policy” towards the countries of the southern Mediterranean. It led to the establishment of the “Euro-Mediterranean Partnership”, which today comprises 39 partner states and is organised within the Barcelona process. At the initiative of Morocco, Portugal and Slovenia, tourism was first included in the Partnership’s annual activity programme, confirmed for each individual year by the Euromed Foreign Ministers, at the 2007 Conference of Euromed Foreign Ministers in Lisbon. At the conference, the Euromed Foreign Ministers confirmed the first conference of Euromed ministers responsible for tourism. The key purpose of this Conference is to shape firmer political guidelines and measures to intensify cooperation in the field of tourism between the EU and its southern Mediterranean partners. The Portuguese Presidency and the European Commission drove forward the preparations for the ministerial conference and invited the two countries behind the initiative to participate actively in drafting ministerial conclusions and outlining topical subjects for the ministers to debate. Slovenia has been active in drawing up ministerial conclusions and underlined tourism as an extremely important inter-sectoral economic activity with strong potential for creating new jobs and promoting the development in general. It also pointed out the importance of tourism in enhancing intercultural dialogue, understanding and tolerance between different nations and cultures. With its active participation in drawing up ministerial conclusions, Slovenia, as the State holding the Presidency of the EU Council, is expressing its support for the EU’s continued concerted cooperation with the southern Mediterranean partners in the field of tourism. Slovenia underlines that ministerial conferences in particular and joint activity programmes adopted at the highest political level can encourage more intensive cooperation in business and investment, exchanges in the area of scientific, research and training and the transfer of good practices between partners. The establishment of a EuroMediterranean University with its headquarters in Slovenia to be inaugurated in June 2008, will constitute an additional initiative for cooperation between the EU and the southern partner states particularly in the field of post-graduate study programmes associated with the current needs and requirements of Mediterranean tourism. The Euromed Conference of Ministers responsible for tourism will be hosted by Morocco on 3 April 2008. The ministerial conference will be held in Fez, the oldest Moroccan capital, rich in exceptional cultural heritage and one of the most attractive tourist destinations in Morocco.
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