Notwithstanding the reduced number of thematic priorities (7), the results of the call show once again the interest of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership for the ENI CBC Med Programme.

198 proposals were submitted under the call for strategic projects, closed on the 3rd of July. The financial value of the proposals is around €660 million, almost 10 times the budget available, i.e. €68.5 million.



The call was launched in March 2019 and focused on 7 thematic priorities selected by the Joint Monitoring Committee* given their potential to contribute to addressing some of the key socio-economic and environmental challenges shared at Mediterranean level.  

As shown in the graph below attached, the development of Euro-Mediterranean economic clusters is the most popular priority of the call, followed by social inclusion (professionalization of NEETS and women), technological transfer and support to startups. Interest for the topics of environmental sustainability and mitigation of climate change  - water efficiency, waste management, renewable energy and energy efficiency - remain high despite the lower budget dedicated to these priorities in the framework of the call for strategic projects.



A Programme for the Mediterranean

Almost equal participation of organizations from Mediterranean Partner Countries and EU Mediterranean Countries, 49% vs. 51%, was achieved. In total, 1681 actors have participated in the call. As for the call for standard projects, Italy is to be the most active country, with 308 organizations involved, followed by Tunisia, Spain, Lebanon. It is worth mentioning the good performance of Egypt and Palestine, with respectively 111 and 127 organizations. 



In terms of Applicants, data show a confirmation of the trends witnessed during the call for standard projects, with more organizations from Mediterranean Partner Countries leading project proposals.



What's next?

The first phase of the evaluation process, which includes the administrative check and the assessment of the relevance and quality of design of proposals, will start very soon. Applicants will be informed about the outcomes of this first phase following the decision of the Joint Monitoring Committee, expected in November 2019.

* decision-making body of the Programme composed of the representatives of the participating countries.