General assessment of economic and social perspectives in the Mediterranean and technical and vocational training in the region are the main topics to be discussed at the upcoming meeting of the ARLEM Commission for Economic, Social and Territorial Affairs (ECOTER) to be held in Brussels on Wednesday 4 July. ECOTER members will also discuss the ARLEM work programme and the change of the ARLEM mandate due on 10 August.

The meeting will start with a general discussion on the economic and social situation in the Mediterranean, focusing on challenges facing the region and on the strengths and potential to be used.

This exchange of views will prepare the ground for the topic of this year's Report to be prepared by the ECOTER commission: Technical and Vocational Training (TVET) in the Mediterranean (Rapporteur Nihal El-Megharbel (Egypt)), the aim of which is to assess the TVET governance and delivery, to recommend actions to help improving school-to-work transition and employability and to foster North-South and South-South cooperation in this area. Ms El-Megharbel will take the conclusions into account while drafting her report.

Representatives of the Union for the Mediterranean, the European External Action Service, the European Training Foundation, the EMUNI University, the Institute for the Mediterranean, the Moroccan Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training and the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises will contribute to the discussion.
The meeting will be the last ECOTER meeting under the current co-chairmanship. On 10 August, at the start of the new ARLEM mandate, Ivan Jakovčić (Istria/HR) and Luc Van den Brande (Flanders/BE) will pass on their duties to their successors, Peter Bossman (Piran/SI) and Lütfü Savas, Mayor of Antakya (TR) who will both attend the meeting.
The meeting will take place at the CoR headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday 4 July 2012 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly

The Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) is a consultative assembly which aims at bringing a regional and local dimension to the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. It gathers 84 members from the EU and its 16 Mediterranean partners who are representatives of regions and local bodies holding a regional or local authority mandate.

The role of the ARLEM Commission for Economic, Social and Territorial Affairs (ECOTER) is to issue opinions to be adopted at the ARLEM Plenary Session. The Commission focuses on decentralisation, urban and territorial development, cultural cooperation, information society, migration and integration, small and medium-sized enterprises, commerce, etc. In 2012, its work will focus on the preparation of the report on technical and vocational training.