PRIORITY AXIS 1: INNOVATION

Promoting Mediterranean innovation capacities to develop smart and sustainable growth

Innovation and competitiveness is highlighted in the strategy UE 2020. It is a major challenge in MED regions facing international competition, and contributes to overcome the economic crisis. In this cooperation area, a specific attention must be paid to the fields of blue and green growth that represent significant development perspectives.

Specific Objective 1.1: To increase transnational activity of innovative clusters and networks of key sectors of the MED area

Budget: Available ERDF budget: 72 Mio €  – Available IPA budget: 3 Mio €
(32% of total ERDF and IPA budget for the programme)

Partnership: private co-financing for ERDF partners

Thematic keywords: Blue and green growth, creative industries and social innovation

Types of actions: The development of clusters and networks, development of models and tools, transfer of knowledge, awareness-raising and capitalisation activities

Key target groups: SMEs, economic operators and structures accompanying them; public authorities and research structures

PRIORITY AXIS 2: LOW CARBON ECONOMY

Fostering low carbon strategies and energy efficiency in specific MED territories: cities, islands and remote areas

Low carbon economy is a key issue for territorial sustainable development and for EU objectives. In the MED area, the challenge is to develop solutions adapted to various regional contexts from densely urbanised areas with dense transport networks to remote areas and islands with more limited access to energy resources. The Axis includes three distinctive domains of activity: energy efficiency, renewable energy production and use, and low carbon mobility.

Specific Objective 2.1: To raise capacity for better management of energy in public buildings at transnational level

Specific Objective 2.2: To increase the share of renewable local energy sources in energy mix strategies and plans in MED territories

Specific Objective 2.3: To increase capacity to use existing low carbon transport systems and multimodal connections among them

Budget: Available ERDF budget: 45 Mio €  – Available IPA budget: 1,8 Mio €
(20% of total ERDF and IPA budget for the programme)

Partnership: private co-financing for ERDF partners

Thematic keywords: Reduction of Green House Gas emissions, increase energy efficiency and promotion of renewable energy

Types of actions: Strategy building, capacity building, awareness raising, training and changing practices; Feasibility studies and analyses, elaborating policy plans, services and tools; Possibility for small-scale investments and pilot projects

Key target groups: Public authorities, research structures, enterprises, NGO’s/civil society structures (end user role)

PRIORITY AXIS 3: NATURAL & CULTURAL RESOURCES

Protecting and promoting Mediterranean natural and cultural resources

The axis is especially focused on the protection of natural and cultural heritage, biodiversity, the development of human activities in coherence with environmental change which represent enormous challenges to the MED area. The protection of the environment is a major challenge with strong attractiveness of coastal areas, environmental strain of urban development, geographical constraints (coastal areas, islands, mountains) and environmental consequences of climate change. This intervention field represents also a potential of new employment creation for the future.

Specific Objective 3.1: To enhance the development of a sustainable and responsible coastal and maritime tourism in the MED area

Specific Objective 3.2: To maintain biodiversity and natural ecosystems through strengthening the management and networking of protected areas

Budget: Available ERDF budget: 76 Mio €  – Available IPA budget: 3,1 Mio €
(34% of total ERDF and IPA budget for the programme)

Partnership: private co-financing for ERDF partners

Thematic keywords: Strong attractiveness of coastal areas, environmental strain of urban development, geographical constraints (coastal areas, islands, mountains) and environmental consequences of climate change; Potential of new employment creation for the future.

Types of actions: Analysis, studies, policy-planning and strategy development, but also on transfer of practices and policy implementing measures

Key target groups: Public authorities, but also associations and NGO’s, research bodies, and to some extent enterprises

PRIORITY AXIS 4: GOVERNANCE

Enhancing Mediterranean governance

The Interreg MED Programme gives also the possibility, through the axis 4, to support the development of multilateral coordination frameworks with the macro-regional approach. In these territories, beneficiaries must promote an ecosystemic intervention logic based on the coordination between different fields of intervention relevant to their project (economic development, environmental impact, tourism, management of natural resources, energy, transport, etc.).

This priority axis is experimental and challenging, but the necessity of better coordination between the authorities of the programme area is incontestable. Moreover, part of the programme space is already concerned by a macro-regional strategy. Taking into account the experimental nature of this priority, and also the possibility to finance earmarked ‘macro-regional’ pilot projects via thematic priorities (especially within the priority axis 3), this axis will support only a limited number of integrated cooperation projects. They should involve regional, national and international bodies to improve decision-making processes and foster common views and strategies in the MED area.

Specific Objective 4.1: To support the process of developing multilateral coordination frameworks and strengthening the existing ones in the Mediterranean for joint responses to common challenges

Budget: Available ERDF budget: 18 Mio €  – Available IPA budget: 0,7 Mio €
(8% of total ERDF and IPA budget for the programme)

Partnership: no co-financing for private ERDF partners

Types of actions: Thematic concentration, consultation processes and studies, networks of public authorities to improve decision making processes and foster common views and strategies

Key target groups: Projects financed should involve various regional, national and international bodies