UfM Summit postponed to ensure ‘complete success’, Egypt, France and Spain insist

Spain, Egypt and France have insisted that the decision to postpone the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Summit, which should have been held on 7 June in Barcelona, is to "ensure [its] complete success", insisting on the "importance and significance" of the UfM.

"The UfM was created to resolve crises, not to create them," said Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, addressing a joint press conference in Cairo with his counterparts from France, Bernard Kouchner, and Egypt, Ahmed Abul Gheit. Spain, which holds the rotating Presidency of the EU, had been due to host the Summit, while Egypt and France are the co-chairs of the UfM.

The ministers insisted that the decision had been taken primarily in order to give a chance to the indirect negotiations taking place between Palestinians and Israelis since 9 May - a negotiation process that has a deadline of four months. Holding the UfM summit at the beginning of that process "would have been very early", said Kouchner. The Summit has now been rescheduled for November.

Moratinos stressed the importance of the UfM: "It is not just a diplomatic initiative to take a group photo or have a political meeting, but a really deep strategic partnership between 43 countries," he said.