The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) is an international organisation established in 2005 by the national parliaments of the countries of the Euro-Mediterranean region. It is the legal successor of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in the Mediterranean (CSCM), launched in the early ‘90s.
The main objective of PAM is to forge political, economic and social cooperation among the Member States in order to find common solutions to the challenges facing the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf region, and to create a space for peace and prosperity for its peoples.
PAM is the centre of excellence for regional parliamentary diplomacy, and a unique forum whose membership is open exclusively to Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf countries, which are represented on equal footing. This is reflected in the composition of the Bureau and the alternating Presidency. The President of PAM is Hon. Giulio Centemero (Italy). Each national delegation has up to five members with equal voting rights and decision-making powers.
PAM conducts the bulk of its work within three Standing Committees. It convenes annually in a Plenary Session. It may also set up Working Groups, ad-hoc Committees or Special Task Forces to tackle a particular topic (i.e. Counter-Terrorism, Confidence Building, Peace Support, Conflict Resolution, Middle East Peace Process, Mass Migration, Free Trade and Investments, Economic Integration, Climate Change, Energy, Human Rights, Dialogue of Civilizations, Gender issues, etc…). The main operational and coordination instruments of PAM in these fields are Field Missions, Electoral Observation Teams, the Economic Panel on Trade and Investments, the Academic Platform and the Women Parliamentary Forum.
Although the reports and resolutions adopted by PAM are not legally binding per se, they are a powerful “soft diplomacy” tool when dealing with parliaments, governments and civil society in the region.
The PAM Secretariat is also entrusted with the parliamentary dimension of the 5+5 Western Mediterranean Forum and the MEDCOP.
The international Secretariat, an autonomous, decentralized and independent body of the Assembly, assists and advises the PAM President, the PAM Bureau and all members in the execution of their mandate and is responsible for the follow-up on the decisions taken by the Assembly providing coordination, assistance and support to the work of the Committees and all other bodies established under PAM.
The Secretariat interacts with national delegations, as well as with regional and international bodies sharing an interest in the PAM region. It has the mandate to stimulate the activities of the Assembly. It also coordinates the awarding of the PAM Prize dedicated to individuals or institutions whose work is considered of great value for the PAM region.
The Secretary General, assisted by international and local staff, coordinates the activities of the Assembly, from Geneva.
PAM has offices in Naples, Italy and in the Republic of San Marino.
PAM also has Permanent Observers to the UN in Geneva, New York and Vienna, a Liaison Officer with UNSCO and UNIFIL in Jerusalem, a Permanent Representation in Bucharest, and a Permanent Representation to LAS in Cairo.
PAM was granted by the General Assembly of the United Nations the Permanent Observer Status, by Resolution A/RES/64/124, at its 64th Session on 16th December 2009.
An essential link with civil society, parliamentarians are key to any political decision-making process. In order to ensure coherence and coordination in decision processes, including social peace, it is necessary that parliamentarians fully participate in today’s regional debates thereby contributing to the elaboration of policies that bear both an immediate impact and a long-term impact for future generations. Today’s challenges, including mass migration, climate change and most importantly the resurgence of conflicts and the evolution of terrorism, require a collective effort, goodwill and confidence-building measures.
The political dialogue established among members of PAM, in particular with respect to the Middle East issues, Syria and Libya crises, and the Russian aggression against Ukraine, are of crucial importance.
To further its objectives, PAM encourages the inter-governmental support of the main actors in the region as well as regional institutions.
41 Member, Associate and Observer States: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Georgia, Holy See, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Niger, North Macedonia, Palestine, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovenia, Sovereign Order of Malta, Syria, Togo, Tunisia, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates.
Partner States: Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Moldova, Oman, Slovakia, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America.
Furthermore, PAM signed cooperation agreements with or is partner of the following regional and international organizations:
- European Parliament and Commission, LAS and OSCE;
- Commonwealth PA, OSCE PA, NATO PA, PABSEC, TURKPA, Pan-African Parliament, Arab parliament, Arab IPU, the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Orthodoxy (IAO), the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, IPA CIS, UfM PA;
- MEDREG, the Euro Mediterranean Economists Association (EMEA), FISPMED, Groupe inter-académique pour le Développement (GID), International Centre for Migration Policy, International Federation of Consular Corps and Associations (FICAC), the UN Alliance of Civilizations, Vittorio Occorsio Foundation, the Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and human Rights, the Mediterranean Citizens’ Assembly Foundation (MCAF), PLATFORMA, UNITE, the Global Organisation of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC).
- EBRD, EIB, OECD, UNEP, UNODC, UNOCT, UNCTAD, FAO, WB, IMF, UNIDO, UNESCO, ISESCO BusinessMed, CTED, WHO, North-South centre of the Council of Europe,
In addition, PAM cooperates, among others, with the following universities: Euro-Mediterranean University (EMUNI), John Hopkins University SAIS Bologna Centre, Sciences PO Paris, Rennes, Bordeaux and Marseille, Bocconi University, Luiss University, London School of Economics, Geneva Graduate Institute, The European Institute (CIFE), Al Quds, Al-Azhar, University of Bari, Beirut, Bologna, Bucharest, Catania, Cagliari, Enna, Fez, Firenze, Florence, Genoa, Groningen, Ljubljana, Macerata, Madrid, Malta, Naples Federico II, Parthenope and l’Orientale, Nice Sofia Antipolis, Padova, Rabat, Salerno, Siena, Sorbonne, Torino, Valencia and Warsaw.
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