What’s The 5+5 Dialogue

The Western Mediterranean Forum, commonly referred to as 5+5 Dialogue, was officially launched in Rome in 1990 as an informal sub-regional forum which main aim was to foster relations between European countries and the newly born Arab Maghreb Union. The 5+5 Dialogue comprises Algeria, France, Italy, Libya, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Portugal, Spain and Tunisia.
As a trans-Mediterranean cooperation initiative, the rationale of the 5+5 Dialogue is to provide an informal forum in which the five EU member states and the five Maghreb countries have the chance to discuss subjects of topical interest for the region and to identify new areas for practical cooperation.

History of 5+5 Dialogue

The 5+5 Dialogue was the response to the changes of the regional integration dynamics which were happening within the Western Mediterranean sub region after the creation of the UMA (1989) and the launch of the Renewed Mediterranean Policy (1990). Thus, the 5 +5 emerged as a meeting point where member states could find common solutions to shared problems and has been contributing to a greater integration in the Mediterranean basin since. In January 2001, the foreign ministers of the “5 +5 Dialogue” boosted the process by holding a meeting in Lisbon where they agreed on the relevance of the Western Mediterranean Forum as a means to achieve stability and peace in the Mediterranean The first Summit of Heads of State or Government of the Western Mediterranean Forum was held in Tunis, on December, 5th and 6th, 2003.

Then, further high-level conferences have taken place involving sectorial issues such as Migration, Defence, Transport , Tourism, Education , or Environmental Issues and Renewable Energy , among others.
The fourth ministerial conference of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs took place in Oran on November, 24th, 2004 and re-established regular ministerial conferences schedule. The following meetings took place in Valletta (Malta) on June 2005, in Rabat (Morocco) on January 2008, in Córdoba (Spain) on April 2009, in Tunisia on April 2010, and in Rome (Italy) on February 2012. The latter one emphasized Europe’s support to the democratic transitions and political reforms which followed the so-called “Arab Spring” of 2011.
On October 5, 2012 the Second Summit of Heads of State or Government was held in Valletta (Malta), asserting the commitment of the Member States to boost their cooperation in search of a result-based cooperation. Regional cooperation projects identified within the framework of the 5+5 Dialogue are being implemented through the operational capacities of the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean, based in Barcelona.

Sources:

5+5 Country Data