Memo: 1st EURO-MED Trade Ministerial to inject impetus into trade dimension of Barcelona process

The first meeting of EURO-MED Trade Ministers was held in Brussels on 29 May 2001. It was intended to inject fresh impetus into the trade dimension of the Barcelona process and create conditions for an improvement in the flow of trade and investments in the area. The agenda included both multilateral trade issues such as the World Trade Organisation and the launch of a new round of trade negotiations and regional trade matters such as furthering integration among the 12 EURO-MED countries. EURO-MED Trade Ministers will meet regularly in future with the next meeting scheduled for the first half of 2002 under the Spanish Presidency of the EU.