MEP Simon Busuttil was appointed as the European People’s Party coordinator for economic cooperation in the Euro-Med region. In this role, he will be the spokesperson of the EPP group and coordinate its policy on economic cooperation between the European Union and Mediterranean partner countries.

Reacting to his appointment, Dr Busuttil said: “I am delighted to be given this new responsibility in an area which is at the heart of my political activity as a member of the European Parliament.”

Dr Busuttil has been active in the Economic Cooperation Committee of the Euro-Med Parliament Assembly (EMPA) for the past two-and-a-half years. His appointment as EPP coordinator for Euro-Med economic affairs comes a few weeks before the next meeting of the assembly which will be held in Tunis in March.

Under the new leadership of its new President Hans-Gert Poettering, the European Parliament is putting the Euro-Med region back at the centre of its attention.

The EPP is strongly backing this direction and is intensifying its links with political parties in Southern Mediterranean countries.

Dr Busuttil is also the vice-president of the European Parliament’s delegation for the five Maghreb countries: Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, Tunisia and Libya.