Conclusions of COMPSUD 6 Meeting, 3-4 May 2007, Corfu island

The 6th Meeting of the Circle of Mediterranean Parliamentarians for Sustainable Development (COMPSUD) took place on 3-4 May 2007, in Corfu island, Greece, with the participation of 30 MPs from 15 countries and representatives of regional organisations.

The Meeting was organized by GWP-Med and MIO-ECSDE that jointly serve as the COMPSUD Secretariat, and was financially supported by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

COMPSUD 6 discussions focused on possible ways to strengthen the dimensions of sustainable development and of IWRM in regional political processes such as the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, the European Neighborhood Policy, the Horizon 2020, the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development etc and in particular on the role of MPs in promoting such processes, in cooperation with governmental and non-governmental partners. Moreover, the cooperation of COMPSUD with other parliamentary bodies in the region was in the focus, and particularly with the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly and the Arab Parliament.

The Corfu Declaration as well as the final Agenda of the Meeting are attached. We should highlight the following:

- the participation and proved interest of the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Dora Bakoyannis as well as of the Secretary General of the recently established Arab Parliament, Mr. Adnan Omran. Moreover, the Chairs of the Environment and Water Parliamentary Committees of Lebanon, Portugal and Greece participated at the meeting.

- the suggestion made by MPs and the acceptance by the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs to financially support meetings of COMPSUD in Corfu Island biannually. This means that every second year the COMPSUD meetings will be organized in a Mediterranean country (meetings were already held in Egypt, Greece, Lebanon, Spain and Turkey) and every other in Corfu.

- the invitation to COMPSUD by the European Commission representative Mr. Andrew Murphy to become Member of the Steering Committee of the Horizon 2020 Initiative. The first meeting of that body will take place in Marrakech on 5-6 June 2007.

- the invitation to COMPSUD by UNDP representative Ms. Mirey Atallah to participate in the new GEF/UNDP project of Petersberg-Africa. This confirms the GWP-Med participation in the project, hopefully along with other GWP regions in Africa.

The above indicate the recognition that the Circle receives. A key challenge ahead is to use the COMPSUD dynamic at the national level, through the Parliaments, for the promotion of IWRM principles in law making and to assist country implementation of processes like the MED EUWI, the GEF SPM, the Petersberg / Athens Process, etc.

List of attendees.