Introduction

The Interreg Euro-MED is a European territorial cooperation programme on an international

scale. Its general objective is defined by the word cooperation, based on a regional,
transnational and European approach.

For the first time after two previous iterations of the Programme, Interreg Euro-MED is now
extended up to the Black sea regions: indeed, a substantial enlargement was approved in this
Programme cycle: two new countries (Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia), as well as three
new Spanish regions (Castilla la Mancha, Extremadura, and Madrid) were added to the eligible zone.

Henceforth, the Interreg Euro-MED Programme now covers 25% of the EU’s landmass, and is home
to more than 140 million inhabitants.

Map courtesy of DG Regio

Challenges
In its entirety, the Mediterranean region shows a lower average GDP per capita, a lower
employment rate, and a lower innovative index than the EU average. Nevertheless, its
innovative and development potential are huge with the existence of businesses and
research clusters geared towards green and blue growth (environmental services, biotechnology,
sustainable tourism, natural resources management, clean energy, marine sciences, fishing…).
These clusters are nevertheless national in nature and progress could be made by inciting trans-
national interaction and cooperation.

For the 2021-2027 period, the European Commission has set increasingly ambitious objectives
by integrating environmental issues into all programmes of the EU. The target of the commission is
to devote 25% of EU spending to address climate objectives. Assuch, the environment is the
leading theme for the current Interreg Euro-MED Programme, which also assures a smooth
transition from former axis 2 (low-carbon economy) and axis 3 (environment protection) of the
14-20 Interreg MED programme.

Although the global pandemic and widespread confinement have had a positive impact on the
environment, the economic fallout was also devastating. While it is true that the economic
crisis is not structural in nature, there is a dire need for economic support in order to recover
from the crisis, especially in fragile and overexposed sectors such as tourism and cultural and
creative industries.

Operational Missions
Following the cited challenges above, the principal objective of the programme consists of
contributing to a transition towards a climate-neutral and sustainable society: fighting against
the impact of global changes on Mediterranean resources, whilst ensuring a sustainable
growth and the well-being of citizens. A strategic approach centered around four operational
missions was adopted.

MISSION 1: STRENGTHENING AN INNOVATIVE AND SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY

To combat the post-COVID economic crisis, it is imperative to find innovative solutions which
remodels the current linear economy and create pathways towards a circular economy and a
sustainable society. Research and innovation is essential for the management of natural
resources by providing technological solutions in a sustainable fashion. This is particularly
important in the current context of heightened environmental pressure and reduced
biodiversity.

This is a transversal mission, aiming to support a wide variety of actions such as the transition
towards a greener economy, the reduction of negative impacts stemming fromclimate change,
the promotion of a collaborative economy and the improvement of greenliving space.

MISSION 2: PROTECTING, RESTORING AND ENHANCING OUR ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL

HERITAGE
This mission chiefly aims to attain the ambitious environmental objectives set by the EU,
including those defined in the EU Green Deal.

In this perspective, the objective of the mission is to continue the fight against the reduction
of biodiversity while reinforcing the actions aiming towards adaptation and climate resilience.
The programme wishes to continue the work achieved during the last iteration of the
programme, by supporting transnational actions aiming to develop an effective governance
framework and to guarantee a sustainable management of natural resources.

With other missions, this mission aims to promote a societal model which is healthier forthe
environment and more viable for the economy via the protection, restoration and
enhancement of cultural and environmental heritage.

MISSION 3: PROMOTING GREEN LIVING AREAS

The development and the sustainable management of living areas are paramount to thequality
of life of Mediterranean inhabitants. In particular, it is urgent to address the negative impacts
caused by urban sprawl which is hazardous towards human health and the environment. These
are, but not limited to, air pollution, energy consumption, mobility, segregation and
stratification, etc. On the other hand, as seen in the past few years, our living areas are becoming
more and more vulnerable towards the effects of climate change, as cities are facing more and
more severe climate phenomena.

The support for green living areas is complementary to the other missions in the programme
as it tackles other issues inherent to the programme such as the transition towards green
energy, energy efficiency, and the development of green living space.
MISSION 4: ENHANCING SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
The tourism sector has been and always is a priority for the MED area. Due to the severe impact of
the pandemic on the sector, there is an urgent need to stimulate its recovery as well as its
sustainable development. The COVID-19 crisis doesn’t only represent a major challenge but also a
turning point to promote a permanent change in the industry, as well as its shift towards
sustainable practices.

Taking into account the transnational nature of the programme, this mission would be tackled
in a transversal manner thus permitting MED regions to ameliorate its social, economic and
environmental quality. This mission aims to complement the other missions of the programme by
placing a major component of the Mediterranean economy, Tourism, at the forefront of its
transition towards a resilient and climate-neutral society.

Priorities

Priority 1: Smarter Mediterranean

This priority aims to reinforce the engagement in society and to increase the innovative
potential of both the public and the private sector. The goal is to put in place solutions for a
sustainable and greener economy in the Mediterranean by consolidating existing research
networks into a competitive research ecosystem. This is done via engaging stakeholdersand
partners into a quadruple innovation helix framework.

Example of actions which are eligible under this priority

➔ Developing new and existing value chains, in cooperation within transnational clusters
and promoting transnational coalitions (public-private), internationalisation and
extraversion of SMEs.

➔ Applying best practices and management tools and innovative solutions in thearea of
sustainable business development for SMEs.

➔ Accelerating innovation and technology transfer, with particular focus on: blue and green
economy, agriculture, food production, fisheries and aquaculture, climate change,
creative and cultural industries, renewable resources, smart manufacturing, transport,
biodiversity, health and future digital technologies.

➔ Promoting climate-friendly innovations, efficient industrial processes, new modelsof

entrepreneurship, all oriented towards the creation of shared value and
entrepreneurship in emerging sectors as well as those in transition.
 ➔ Changing practices in tourism by promoting existing and new solutions in an innovative
manner: smart tourism, management of tourist flows, etc.

➔ Cooperating and coordinating institutional bodies, research bodies, businesses and civil
societies for the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of smart specialisation
strategies for sustainable development (e.g. blue and green economy, industry
manufacturing, renewable resources, transport, tourism, cultural and creative industries,
biodiversity), developing skills for smart specialization (e.g. health, future digital
technologies.)

➔ Strengthening transformative innovation policies.

Priority 2: Greener Mediterranean

This priority aims to create a greener environment for the MED area, supporting efforts
directed towards energy transition and towards circular economy. Greener MED would
promote a greener living space by improving natural resources management and by preventing
and mitigating risks.

The priority is carried out through three specific objectives: supporting the transition towards a
circular economy, preventing and mitigating risks and the transition towards green energy and
green living areas, and finally improving natural resources management.

Example of actions which are eligible under this priority

In terms of the transition towards a circular economy

➔ Supporting and promoting the circularity and sustainability for products andproduction
systems in sectors such as agriculture, food and fisheries, health and manufacturing.

➔ Supporting sustainable practices of waste reduction, prevention and transformation, in

particular against the production of waste and the transformation of waste into
resources.

➔ Supporting initiatives linking water, energy, and food.

➔ Supporting public authorities in the development and adoption of strategies to

promote consumer awareness, covering domains such as tourism, creative and cultural
industries sectors, etc., inciting their transition towards a circular economy.
In terms of the prevention, the mitigation of risks and the transition towards green energy and green
living areas

➔ Preventing and mitigating natural and environmental risks, such as coastal erosion, rising
sea level, protecting forests and mitigating forest fires, developing drought
management plans as well as contingency plans for other extreme weather events.

➔ Preventing and mitigating risks associated with human activity, such as improving
monitoring and governance systems focused on adaptation to climate change, promoting
consumer engagement and awareness, developing and adoptingstrategies and practices to
reduce the impact of tourism using emerging technologies.

➔ Raising awareness and promoting environmental culture, focused on changing

behaviour in topics such as the use of natural resources, i.e. the creation of a water-
saving culture amongst the population and amongst key players involved intourism.

➔ Mobilising funds to put in place plans and solutions for climate change adaptation,
resilience and energy transition in a fair and equitable manner.

➔ Supporting the deployment of alternative energies and reducing carbon footprint in daily
life, such as promoting renovation which increases the energy efficiency of buildings or
low-carbon mobility.

In terms of the improvement of natural resources management

➔ Consolidating the network of functional ecosystems, strengthening transnational links

to more effectively protect fragile ecosystems and marine protected areas aswell as
improving existing cooperation infrastructures on various topics.

➔ Improving the management of natural ecosystems by facilitating co-management

approaches for natural resources and by supporting public authorities to create a multi-
stakeholder governance model in order to ensure effective and sustainable monitoring
with other key actors.

➔ Restoring degraded ecosystems, especially water polluted by plastic waste.

 Photo by Anne Van der Stegen, Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur

Priority 3: Better Mediterranean Governance

Good governance constitutes the backbone of the capitalisation efforts for any results that would
be obtained during the INTERREG Euro-MED Programme. A process coordinating other
programmes and strategies within the Mediterranean area requires a Mediterranean vision as well
as the establishment of strong governance structures.

This priority aims to support the capitalization of thematic results by establishing the
conditions for synergy and coordination between Priority 1 and 2 projects, and by
implementing integration strategies into local, regional, national and European policies.

The priority also aims to support transnational coordination between authorities of regional,
national and European networks and between ETC management authorities, initiatives and
strategies to improve public policies in the Mediterranean area.

Example of actions which are eligible under this priority

➔ Organising and disseminating information along thematic communities in order to

facilitate the reuse of existing results generated by Interreg Euro-MED projects.

➔ Establishing a peer review process to consolidate knowledge generated by projects.

➔ Conducting analyses and inspiring connections between projects to identify relevant

knowledge created by one project that can be harnessed and / or integrated and
transferred to another project, creating synergies between them.

➔ Vitalising communities of interest around the mission of the program to promote the
conditions necessary for the development of synergies between projects and facilitate
the production and the updates of relevant knowledge.
 ➔ Conducting analyses to identify replicable and adaptable results for their transfer and
integration into other programmes.

➔ Identifying key actors from local, regional, national and European level for the transfer
and integration of results into policies and to animate networks to increase the public
reach of the results.

➔ Organising training sessions and sharing experiences to increase the capacity of partners to
enhance their results.

➔ Establishing favourable conditions for the transfer and integration of results into
policies, notably between stakeholders and donor and recipient institutions.

➔ Creating and facilitating networks of recipient institutions to increase their capacityto

integrate results into policies.

➔ Engage stakeholders actively in specific networks to stimulate coordination between local,

regional, multi-sectoral and multi-level actors within Euro-MED.

➔ Constructing mechanisms to identify and analyse coordination opportunities within EURO-

MED national policies and outside of the Euro-MED perimeter (including non-EU partners
in the East and in the South).

➔ Promoting a Interreg Euro-MED vision.

Budget
For the 2021-2027 cycle, the final budget of the EUROMED programme has not yet been approved.
The programme should be endowed with approximately 293 million Euro in total. The
financing of the programme stemming from the EU via Interreg funds (ERDF and IPA) should be
around 235 million Euros. This is complemented by national contributions from member states
participating in the programme, up to about 60 million Euro.

Due to the transnational set-up of the Programme, it is intended to support large-scale projects,
involving the action of several states on a common issue. Nevertheless, smaller programmes
could be integrated into modular “territorial” or strategic projects ([Link], experiments,
transfer of knowledge…), which would be co-financed. The interested public or private partners
should take advantage of this possibility to find projects in the same priority to integrate
themselves in the programme.
 Photo from the European Commission

Calendar
The submission of the Programme for approval by the European Commission can only b e
done after the adoption of the implementing acts, in line with the European Regulations. They
were adopted on 24th February 2022.

The first call for project proposals opened on 24th February 2022. This first call will be focused
on Priority 3 of the Programme. A call for projects for Priorities 1 and 2 will be launched in
during the summer 2022.

The kick-off event for the Interreg Euro-MED Programme 2021-2027 took place on 2nd December
2021 in Lisbon and online (check out the event here