EuroMeSCo closes a series of five successful meetings with the objective of connecting our research agenda to ongoing policy debates and priorities. The Coordinators of each Joint Study Group presented their research proposals in these Connect & Kick Off Meetings, held between July and September. The objective was to receive feedback from experts and policymakers on the goals, structure, approach and methodology of the research project in order to establish a roadmap for the resulting Policy Study.

An overall amount of 50 policymakers, mainly from EU institutions – such as the European Commission, the European External Action Service, the European Parliament and EU delegations –, but also from other organisations – such as the Union for the Mediterranean or the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development – have participated in these meetings and provided valuable insights to the Coordinators of the Joint Study Groups. More than 30 experts from different think tanks and research institutes also joined the discussion and added their contributions to these meetings.

Each Joint Study Group is made up of a selection of 4-6 experts from different think tanks and research institutes of the Euro-Mediterranean region, under the leadership of a Coordinator. At the beginning of 2021 and as a result of their work, EuroMeSCo will publish five Policy Studies on five different key policy areas:

• Post-Covid-19 EU-MENA-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade Relations, coordinated by Katarzyna Sidlo (CASE) and formed by Esmat Kamel (MSA) and Hussein Suleiman (ACPSS) and Guillaume van der Loo (EPC/Egmont).
• EU Counter-Smuggling Policy and Response, under the coordination of Gabriella Sanchez (EUI) and composed of Matteo Capasso (EUI), Angeliki Dimitriadi (ELIAMEP), Alia Fakhry (DGAP) and Kheira Arrouche (University of Leeds).

• Green Economy in the Southern Mediterranean, led by Julia Choucair-Vizoso (ARI), will count with the participation of Georgeta Auktor (DIE), Mohamed Behnassi (ibn Zohr University), Zied Boussen (ARI) and Karolina Zubel (CASE).

• Covid-19 Related Opportunities for Terrorist Groups, co-coordinated by Abdelhak Bassou and Youssef Tobi (PCNS) and formed by Johannes Claes (Clingendael), Eman Ragab (ACPSS), Clara-Auguste Süß (PRIF), Dr. Kars de Bruijne (Clingendael) and Sophie Mertens (Clingendael).

• Cyber Resilience in the MENA, under the coordination of Patryk Pawlak (EUISS), counts on the contributions of Adel Abdel-Sadek (ACPSS), Samuele Dominioni (ISPI) and Alexandra Laban (Sofreco).