At the closing press conference of the summit in Portoroz, Slovenia, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro expressed gratitude for the trust placed by his counterparts in the Portuguese presidency of the group in 2027.
The Prime Minister also commended the hospitality of Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob during this year’s summit and extended best wishes for a successful presidency to his Croatian counterpart, who will lead the group in 2026, following Slovenia.
Established in 2013, the MED9 alliance consists of nine countries—Portugal, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Malta, Italy, Slovenia, and Spain—that are part of the Mediterranean basin, the eurozone, and the Schengen Area (except Cyprus).
The leadership period of this alliance typically concludes with a MED9 summit organized by the country selected to preside at the previous summit.
With this presidency, Portugal will be responsible for organizing the MED9 summit in 2027, expected to be the 14th edition, which should mark the end of its leadership term in the alliance.
This year’s summit addressed the current “intolerable conditions” in the Gaza Strip, following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Islamic movement Hamas, as well as European competitiveness, focusing on topics such as energy (reducing fossil fuels and investing in renewables), labor issues, and migration.
Two documents emerged from this summit: the Portoroz Declaration of MED9 2025 and a joint declaration on the Middle East, endorsed by the King of Jordan and leaders of the MED9 states.
