Dear Colleagues and friends,

I am really happy to be here, thanks to the Ambassador of France to Egypt, my friend Eric Chevalier, thanks to the Government of Egypt and all the work done by outgoing Minister Yasmine Fouad, and mainly thanks to all of you, EU Jeel Connect and Ahmed Yassin. 

When I asked my office to give me examples of persons in Egypt who tell the real story, Ahmed Yassin’s name came up more than once and I am glad that you are at the helm of connecting generations, connecting people, sharing thoughts, knowledge, wisdom, passion, here in Egypt and beyond, in particular the Southern Mediterranean. 

We are living in a era of overload, too much info, too much trash on the web, in our brains, too much trash in nature, garbage everywhere, pollution, and not enough wisdom and courage to use our knowledge for more action - not less, in particular when it comes to preserving our strength of being connected. 

Ambassador Chevalier gave an excellent overview of the good work done at the UN Oceans Conference in Nice, the preparations leading up to event, the agreed follow up. This all rightly needs our full attention. 

I ask everybody on a more personal level, including myself of course, what do we do on a daily basis to preserve our oceans. 

At our EU Delegation, we have a Green Committee, consisting of Rene, Sylvie, Ann, Heba, Jordana and Persefoni; they remind us how we can reduce our environmental impact in our office, for instance addressing the problem of single-use plastic 

Let me share with you some elements of their most recent message to all staff: 

They explain for instance why Single-Use Plastic is a Problem

(and of course you all know the answer - Single-use plastics, such as plastic bags, plastic cups and water bottles, are a significant environmental concern. They take centuries to decompose, polluting our land and oceans as well as posing serious health risks for humans. This issue is especially relevant for Egypt, which is a significant contributor to global plastic pollution and critically affects the Nile, and the Mediterranean Sea)

And then they ask us all to ‘Make a Change’

Every day in the office, our consumption of single-use food packaging, plastic cups and bottles adds to this challenge. However, small shifts in our habits can make a big difference. 

What Can We Do?

Reusable Alternatives: Switching to reusable bottles and cups is an easy step. Not only will it reduce waste, but it's also a great way to enjoy your drinks with style.

Mindful Food packaging Choices:    

Bring Your Own: Consider bringing homemade meals in reusable containers. It's an easy way to cut down on packaging waste.

Support Eco-Friendly Eateries: When ordering food, choose places that use sustainable packaging. This promotes greener practices.

So this is just one real life example

Of course European Union Heads of States and Government do their job as well.  In the EU we look at the full cycle of the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss, not just from a quality of life perspective but also in terms of competitiveness and resilience, or maritime security

We have an ambitious, holistic and forward-looking European Ocean Pact, with concrete actions aiming at the preservation of oceans globally : protecting marine life – strengthening blue economy – supporting coastal communities.

Each of you can decide what is your role in preserving nature, our oceans, our bio diversity: talk about the problem – mobilise people and try to shape policies for politicians to work with. The specific legislation in the EU to reduce plastic pollution did not come falling from the sky. A lot of people are behind such legislation, they know why the use of micro plastic should be reduced.

In Egypt as the European Union we work a lot with many partners on waste management, circular economy EU GREEN, EPAP, GSI Green Sustainable Industry and many more), blue economy (SwitchMed) and thankfully we have a new programme coming up led by the Ministry of Environment on sea preservation, eco-tourism and plastic pollution). 

I am very glad we are in a partnership with all of you. We can make a difference.

Thank you for your attention.