Malta will be joining forces with ten other Mediterranean territories to embark on a programme promoting growth across the Mediterranean region. The 2014-2020 MED transnational cooperation programme will be launched in Marseille on the 23rd June.
The Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, commented positively about this initiative giving the possibility to Mediterreanean countries to collaborate on their common issues. The programme will focus on four key areas;
- Collaboration between SMEs, public authorities and research bodies in order to attain sustainable growth and find innovative ways of doing so,
- Investment in a low-carbon economy, particularly across energy generation and mobility,
- The protection of the Mediterranean natural and cultural resources through careful analysis and planning,
- Enhancement of Mediterranean governance through promoting involvement on the regional, national and international levels.
In relation to these priority areas, Corina Cretu stated that although the European Mediterranean regions have diverse landscapes ranging from heavily urbanised centres to rural and island territories, they face similar economic challenges on a global scenario.
The programme will enable these countries to actively cooperate in order to safeguard the main and most essential common element shared amongst them – the Mediterranean heritage.
10 EU member states will be involved; Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece, Malta, Cyprus and UK-Gibraltar, along with three candidate countries; Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania.
The programme will be worth over €275 million, of which €224 million will come from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and a further €9.3 million put in from the EU instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA).
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