The Center

The Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI) is a multi-partner platform where development agencies, Governments, local authorities and civil society from around the Mediterranean convene in order to exchange knowledge, discuss public policies, and identify the solutions needed to address key challenges facing the Mediterranean region.

OUR GOAL: AN INCLUSIVE, INTEGRATED, AND STABLE REGION

Through innovative solutions, the CMI aims to help countries achieve transformative reforms and enhance integration in the Mediterranean region.

OUR ESSENCE: STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

The capacity to build partnerships between a wide spectrum of development actors from the South and the North of the Mediterranean is unique to the CMI.

Members:

- Governments: Egypt, Greece, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Tunisia, France, Italy, and the European External Action Service (EEAS) as an
observer.
- Local authorities: City of Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region.
- International financial institutions: European Investment Bank (EIB), the World Bank Group (WB).

Partners: The CMI nurtures strong partnerships with more than sixty institutions, among which: Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Anna Lindh Foundation, Union for the Mediterranean (UFM), Arab Urban Development Institute (AUDI), Association of Arab Universities, Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), France Médias Monde, and others.
See the full list of partners.

PARTNERSHIPS AT THE HEART OF THE CMI

Governance: Member institutions are represented in the Center’s Oversight Committee which, in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding, oversees procedures, and pays close attention to strategy, programs, partnerships, overall orientation and the use of the Multi-Donor Trust Fund. The Oversight Committee meets regularly while the Annual Meeting gathers all partners once a year.

Financing: The CMI’s budget has three main components:

- A Multi-Donor Trust Fund, which collects contributions from members and partner institutions.
- Direct contributions from the CMI’s partners for specific programs and for general support.
- Financing from the World Bank Group.

Staffing: The CMI has a core team of World Bank staff and hosts other staff seconded from member and partner institutions, who act as members of the greater CMI team and ensure connection to their institution of origin. Since its creation in 2009, the Center has hosted representatives from AFD, CDC, the City of Marseille, EIB, GIZ, WBG, as well as the French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy.

OUR STRATEGIC RELEVANCE: CHAMPIONING COLLECTIVE ACTION TO ADDRESS REGIONAL AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is in turmoil:

- Fragility and conflict: Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen are in civil war, with spillovers of refugees, trade interruptions and economic hardship to neighboring countries and Europe. Palestinians are reeling from deadly attacks and blockades.
- Violence: Terrorist groups and sectarian factions spread violence, threaten citizens and governments' ability to perform basic functions, with spillover effects to Europe.
- Unemployment and exclusion: Private investment and economic growth is slowing down in all countries, while unemployment--especially of women and young people--remains the highest in the developing world. Voice and accountability in MENA are amongst the lowest in the world.
- Vulnerability to climate change: The region faces high vulnerability to climate change with important consequences on water resources, energy use, agriculture, migration, stability, etc.

This turmoil in the MENA region does not just affect the Arab world. The whole world is affected by its spillovers: problems of terrorism, huge refugee migration to Europe and elsewhere, and oil price volatility.

The diffuse nature of these spillovers makes it difficult for any one of the affected countries to address the problem unilaterally. Only a concerted effort by the region’s countries, supported by the international community, has a chance of seriously mitigating the effects.

With the diverse composition of its stakeholders, its multi-country approach, its capacity to mobilize worldwide technical expertise, and its neutrality and flexibility, the CMI is uniquely placed to champion such efforts.

OUR FOCUS: YOUTH AND REGIONAL PUBLIC GOODS

Youth is the CMI’s overarching theme. All CMI programs and activities are youth-focused or youth-sensitive. Under this umbrella theme, the CMI focuses its work on providing the regional public goods that are needed to address the problems of the region and help it achieve its potential:

- Education, innovation, employability: Advancing university governance reforms, quality of technical and vocational skills, youth entrepreneurship, innovation.
- Refugees and mobility: Supporting host communities and welfare of refugees; advancing refugee inclusion; promoting labor mobility.
- Development and Violent Extremism Prevention: Understanding how development actions can counter violence; fostering youth inclusion and open-mindedness.
- Climate change (water & energy): Promoting a Mediterranean energy market, water and energy efficiency, low-carbon transition.
- Territorial cohesion and urban development: Advancing inclusive growth; reducing disparities between regions and territories; promoting cities management and resilience to risks.

By providing these regional public goods, the CMI contributes to building economic and social cohesion, peace preparation, cross-border trade and investment, as well as scientific and cultural exchanges.

OUR APPROACH: THREE BUSINESS AREAS FOCUSING ON SOLUTIONS

The CMI focuses on identifying and disseminating solutions and acts as a comprehensive service platform built around three complementary business areas:

- Multi-partner programs encourage development stakeholders to work together towards informing policy, operationalizing concepts, and developing innovative analytical tools, concepts and solutions.
- The Mediterranean dialogue forum promotes new ideas and weaves together the political, social and economic dimensions of reforms. The dialogue forum contributes to building consensus and reinforcing cooperation across countries, sectors and stakeholders.
- The Mediterranean knowledge platform aims at brokering and disseminating relevant knowledge products from its partners. The CMI adds value to knowledge through further customization, dissemination and “activation”.