The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM; French: Union pour la Méditerranée, Arabic: الاتحاد من أجل المتوسط Al-Ittiḥād min ajl al-Mutawasseṭ) is an intergovernmental organization of 43 member states from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin: all 27 European Union member states (including those not on the Mediterranean) and 16 Mediterranean partner countries from North Africa, Western Asia and Southern Europe.

The UfM was founded on 13 July 2008 at the Paris Summit for the Mediterranean, with the aim of reinforcing the Euro-Mediterranean (Euromed) partnership set out in 1995 as the Barcelona Process. It seeks to promote stability, integration, and socioeconomic development throughout the Mediterranean region; to this end, the union identifies and supports regional projects and initiatives spanning six sectors of activity: Business Development & Employment; Higher Education & Research; Social & Civil Affairs; Energy & Climate Action; Transport & Urban Development; and Water, Environment & Blue Economy.

The UfM is governed by a co-presidency shared between the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean; policies and activities are promulgated through regular meetings of senior officials from the foreign ministries of member states, as well as from EU institutions and the League of Arab States. The organization is administered by a general secretariat based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, which is directed by the Secretary General and supported by six Deputy Secretary Generals (DSGs).

The members of the Union of the Mediterranean are the following (those on the Mediterranean in bold):

Additionally, Libya is an observer state. The UfM has expressed a desire to grant Libya full membership, and Mohamed Abdelaziz, Libya's Foreign Minister from January 2013 to August 2014, once stated that his country is "open" to joining. The Arab League also participates in UfM meetings.

The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, also known as the Barcelona Process, was created in 1995 as a result of the Conference of Euro-Mediterranean Ministers of Foreign Affairs held in Barcelona on 27 and 28 November under the Spanish presidency of the EU. The founding act of the Partnership in 1995 and Final Declaration of the Barcelona Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference is called the Barcelona Declaration, which is often used to refer to the Process itself.

The Partnership culminated in a series of attempts by European countries to articulate their relations with their North African and Middle Eastern neighbours: the global Mediterranean policy (1972–1992) and the renovated Mediterranean policy (1992–1995).

Javier Solana opened the conference by saying that they were brought together to straighten out the "clash of civilizations" and misunderstandings that there had been between them, and that it "was auspicious" that they had convened on the 900th anniversary of the First Crusade. He described the conference as a process to foster cultural and economic unity in the Mediterranean region. The Barcelona Treaty was drawn up by the 27 countries in attendance, and Solana, who represented Spain as its foreign minister during the country's turn at the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, was credited with the diplomatic accomplishment.