EU MED9

25^th – 27^th May 2026
Hotel Radisson Blue Resort & Spa, Split

In January 2026, the Republic of Croatia assumed, for the first time, the rotating one-year presidency of the MED9 group of European Union Member States, comprising Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, Slovenia and Croatia.

Croatia’s presidency of MED9 provides an opportunity to further highlight the country’s Mediterranean dimension and heritage, deeply rooted in both the Mediterranean and Central Europe, and to present itself as the Mediterranean gateway to Central Europe. Croatia’s presidency will focus on three key priorities: a more secure, sustainable and resilient Mediterranean.

Given the Mediterranean’s increasingly central role in the European Union’s geopolitical, security and economic agenda, and with a view to further strengthening the parliamentary dimension of cooperation within the MED9 framework, the Croatian Parliament is organising the Interparliamentary Meeting of the MED9 Foreign Affairs Committees, to be held in Split on 25 and 26 May.

Representatives of the MED9 Foreign Affairs Committees, alongside other high-level participants, will discuss issues of common strategic interest to the Mediterranean region. Discussions will focus in particular on the themes of security, sustainability and resilience in the Mediterranean, its growing geopolitical importance, and the Pact for the Mediterranean. The role of the Western Balkans in strengthening regional stability, connectivity and cooperation will also be addressed. The objective of these discussions is to further advance parliamentary diplomacy and strengthen the parliamentary dimension of MED9 cooperation.

The MED9 group was established in 2013 at the initiative of the Foreign Ministers of Cyprus and Spain, with the aim of fostering cooperation among EU Member States on matters of common interest relating to the Mediterranean. Slovenia and Croatia joined the group in 2021 at the 9th summit of the then MED7, held in Athens, following which the group was renamed MED9.

As part of the Interparliamentary Meeting, on 26 and 27 May the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Croatian Parliament will also hold bilateral follow-up meetings with the Committee on Foreign and European Affairs of the Chamber of Deputies and the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence of the Senate of the Italian Republic.