The 9 longest tide-gauge records in the Mediterranean Sea are compared with the output of a barotropic model forced by atmospheric pressure and wind. Between 1958 and 2001 the tide-gauges indicate sea level trends of -0.4 to 0.7 mm/yr. During the same period the model shows sea level reduction of -0.4 to -0.7 mm/yr linked with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). After the removal of the meteorological influence from the sea level records the resulting trends are ~0.3 ¿ 0.4 mm/yr at the western Mediterranean and ~1.3 ¿ 0.4 mm/yr at the eastern Mediterranean. The eastern basin is strongly affected by rapid sea level rise in the period 1993--2001 with rates of 5--10 mm/yr which are probably related to the Eastern Mediterranean Transient (EMT).