Montenegro is taking part today in a MED9 summit in Croatia

Nthis Euro-Mediterranean summit, in addition to Montenegro, which travelled from Strasbourg (France), where he spoke to the European Parliament on Tuesday, and which goes to Croatia accompanied by Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel, attends the Prime Ministers of Croatia, Slovenia, Greece, Italy and Malta and the Presidents of Cyprus and France, with the Spanish Head of Government, Pedro Sánchez, announcing on Monday his absence from the meeting, following the convening of early general elections in Spain.

This high-level meeting marks the end of the Croatian rotating presidency of MED9, with the participation of the Presidents of the European Council, António Costa, and the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, Prince Albert II of Monaco and Crown Prince of Jordan Hussein Bin Abdullah.

In addition to three working sessions with specific themes on the agenda of this alliance – entitled “A resilient Mediterranean at the heart of a stronger Europe”, “Partnerships for a sustainable and prosperous Mediterranean” and “The uncertain geopolitical and geoeconomic perspectives of the Middle East” – the leaders of MED9 will discuss “current EU issues and, in particular, the agenda for the October meeting of the European Council”, and discussions on the multiannual Community budget for 2028-2034 are expected.

At the end of the work, according to the Croatian Presidency, the leaders present should adopt a joint declaration reaffirming their commitment to addressing common challenges in an increasingly complex geopolitical context, strengthening resilience, security and sustainability in the Mediterranean and the European Union, and promoting coordinated action, including in relation to the EU's common neighbourhood.

At the previous MED9 summit of leaders held in October 2025 in Slovenia, Montenegro announced that Portugal would take over in 2027 the rotating presidency of the alliance of this informal forum, thanking its counterparts for their confidence in the Portuguese leadership of the group, which will take over early next year.

Established in 2013, the MED9 alliance brings together nine countries – Portugal, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Malta, Italy, Slovenia and Spain – which are part of the Mediterranean, the euro and the Schengen area (except Cyprus).

The period in the leadership of this alliance usually ends with a meeting of MED9 at the level of Heads of State or Government, and Portugal should organise the 14th edition of this summit next year.