Implementing the EU Pact for the Mediterranean in the Levant

On 8 June 2026, Anera and the Swedish Dialogue Institute for the Middle East and North Africa convened an event in Amman, Jordan, bringing together representatives from European institutions, government representatives, international organizations, civil society groups, academia, and the private sector to discuss the implementation of the European Union’s Pact for the Mediterranean in the Levant. The focus was on employability, livelihoods, and investment in education and skills, including vocational training and skills development aligned with labor market needs. Participants came from Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, and even Türkiye and Qatar.

Across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Palestine, unemployment, limited access to decent work, and widening inequalities continue to undermine prospects for economic inclusion, particularly among young people and women. The launch of the Pact for the Mediterranean has created an opportunity to rethink partnerships and discuss how a regional policy framework can effectively meet local realities and needs.

The event created a space for dialogue between policymakers and practitioners on how the EU Pact for the Mediterranean’s priorities can be translated into sustainable and context-sensitive action on the ground. Participants reflected on implementation challenges, identified opportunities for stronger collaboration, new ways to respond to greater needs in the region, and shared lessons from existing successful initiatives. Discussions explored how local knowledge, community ownership, private sector engagement and regional cooperation can contribute to the successful implementation of the Pact.

While experiences differed across countries and sectors, four interconnected themes emerged throughout the day: the need for an ecosystem approach to livelihoods, stronger co-creation and partnerships, deeper inclusion and localization, and greater flexibility in fragile contexts. As the Pact for the Mediterranean moves from policy design to implementation, ensuring that regional priorities translate into tangible benefits for communities across the Levant will require approaches that are locally grounded, adaptive and inclusive. The main themes, insights and recommendations that emerged from the discussions are now distilled in a report: “Implementing the EU Pact for the Mediterranean in the Levant with Local Actors.”

Four interconnected recommendations for effective implementation emerged:

Adopt an ecosystem approach to livelihoods. Employment and skills programs cannot be viewed in isolation from the broader economic, social and institutional environments in which people live. Sustainable livelihoods require investments that address structural barriers such as informality, care responsibilities, mobility constraints and weak labor market absorption capacity.

“Training alone is not enough. We need pathways to decent work.”

Build bridges through co-creation and partnerships. Effective implementation requires stronger connections between policymakers, local organizations, communities, academia and the private sector. Programs are most effective when they are designed through continuous dialogue and informed by local evidence and labor market realities.

“Do not let co-creation and co-ownership remain words on paper.”

Advance inclusion and localization. Communities should not only benefit from programs but also help shape them. Meaningful participation requires ensuring that vulnerable groups are represented in program design, feedback mechanisms throughout implementation and in dialogue mechanisms. Local organizations should move beyond implementation roles to become partners in program design and decision-making.

“People do not want to be counted as numbers. They want a place where they belong.”

Enable flexibility in fragile contexts. The Levant cannot be approached as a homogeneous region. Implementation frameworks must be able to adapt to rapidly changing realities and be supported by flexible funding mechanisms, strong local partnerships and responsive decision-making processes.

>>Different communities require different entry points, interventions need to be diverse and flexible.

The workshop demonstrated strong interest among local, regional and international actors in ensuring that the Pact for the Mediterranean translates into tangible benefits for communities across the Levant. Existing partnerships, local expertise, private sector engagement and successful innovative partnership approaches already provide foundations upon which the Pact can build. The discussions in Amman demonstrated that there is political momentum for the Pact and a clear willingness among local, regional and international actors to contribute to this effort. Building on that momentum, and embedding these lessons into future actions, can help ensure that the Pact becomes more than a policy framework.

>> Download the full report