ECR Member Gaetano Galvagno, President of Sicily's Regional Assembly, today hosted the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) in Palermo. The event, which took place in the Sicilian Parliament, saw the participation of high-level speakers, including European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica and ECR MEP Ruggero Razza.

In his opening remarks, President Galvagno referred to the Pact for the Mediterranean presented by the European Commission just few weeks ago and highlighted the need to "invest in meaningful partnerships with African and Middle East countries so that they can grow, develop their economies and make sure that there is a strong cooperation when it comes to manage migration flows together with European partners".

ECR members Antonello Aurigemma and Giovanni Malanchini took part in theplenary session, underlining how the Pact for the Mediterranean needs to become a tool shared in close cooperation with local and regional authorities. ECR members called for a partnership based on the principles of subsidiarity, pragmatism, and fiscal responsibility capable of producing concrete results for citizens. In addition, the ECR Group stated the importance of decentralisation and multilevel governance, while stressing that "foreign policy remains a prerogative of Member States".

President Galvagno spoke of the Mattei Plan for Africa, presented by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni last year, stating that today's ARLEM meeting "symbolises a renewed policy model in bilateral relations with Africa and the Middle East countries, based on a fair and virtuous cooperation". The President of the Sicilian Regional Assembly concluded by underlining the several challenges that the Euro-Mediterranean area is currently facing, from droughts to promoting local democracy and boosting local SMEs: "ARLEM offers us a unique framework for discussion and for designing concrete and sustainable actions at local level".