ESU is at the forefront of a major new international initiative to create a university for the Mediterranean region.  This unique higher education institution was born out of the EUROMED partnership established through the Barcelona Process, designed to bring about greater cooperation across the political, economic, social and cultural dimensions in this particular region which spans Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.  The solemn inauguration of the University took place in the town of Portorož in Slovenia on 9th June 2008, and the signing of the Foundation Charter establishing it has now been completed by a wide range of organisations from across the whole of Europe.  ESU is therefore proud to be a co-founder of the new Euro-Mediterranean University, standing alongside partners such as EURASHE (European Association of Institutions in Higher Education) and the Council of Europe, as well as HE institutions from afar afield as Israel, Egypt and Morocco.    

In a region that continues to be affected by a wide range of political, economic and social problems, the University offers a key tool for the creation greater cooperation and understanding, both in higher education and in a much wider context.  It will serve to strengthen links between HE institutions and actors across a vast and diverse corner of the globe, as well as facilitating student mobility and the achievement of the Bologna Process goals.

The main objectives of the University are:

• to develop academic and professional human resources in the region and contribute to the creation of a common higher education and research area in line with the developments of the Bologna Process, the Catania Declaration and the Cairo Declaration,
• to support and strengthen the existing co-operation networks among universities and institutes by promoting and organizing joint study and research programmes,
• to contribute to the enhancement of intercultural dialogue and dialogue between culture and to the strengthening of the Barcelona Process in general.