The ENI CBC Med Programme on newsstands now: find us in the Italian national newspaper “Il Sole 24 Ore”
The ENI CBC Med Programme appears with two full pages in “Il Sole 24 Ore”, the leading Italian daily business newspaper. The article, under the title “Mediterranean, cooperation for common development”, highlights how the ENI CBC Med Programme, the largest cross-border one supported by the EU in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Instrument, has progressively become a tool that allows numerous organizations from both shores of the Mediterranean to carry out tangible actions for the benefit of territories, communities and people, strengthening institutional capacity and establishing a sense of mutual trust.
Notwithstanding being implemented in a complex geopolitical area, the Programme is a genuine accelerator for Euro-Mediterranean cooperation with projects addressing multiple relevant challenges such as business creation, sustainable tourism, technology transfer, social inclusion, sustainable management of water resources, promotion of renewable energies and protection of coastal areas, etc.
The article focuses on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic with projects able to reshuffle their activities to address the health and socio-economic consequences: from the mapping of production capacities of personal protective equipment (facemasks, gloves, etc.) conducted by the TEX-MED ALLIANCES project to the creation of a temporary shelter for women (and their children) in Tunisia as part of the MedTOWN project.
The publication contains the statements of high-level representatives, emphasizing the politico-strategic importance of the Programme in the context of the Euro-Mediterranean relations.
Multilateralism, the fact of working together, is in the DNA of Italy. This Programme, by virtue of its multilateral nature, offers a forum for discussion and dialogue between the two shores of the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean, which for the European Union is an external border, is for us the center and not the periphery. And it is to this center that Italy's foreign policy looks with particular attention.
The partnership with the ENI CBC Med Programme allows us to build upon the existing synergies to foster a more competitive, innovative, inclusive and sustainable region.
The Programme will continue in the 2021-2027 period under the name of the Interreg NEXTMED. The Region of Sardinia (Italy), Managing Authority of ENI CBC Med, is currently coordinating the work of 15 countries - Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Portugal, Spain Tunisia and Turkey - toward the drafting the new Programme strategy and priorities. Special attention will be dedicated to supporting the socio-economic recovery across the Mediterranean area amid the COVID-19 crisis and the implementation of the European Green Deal: a process to which the Region of Sardinia is determined to actively contribute to, as confirmed by Christian Solinas, President of the Region of Sardinia Region.
Sardinia is ready to make its own contribution by making its experience and skills available also for the next programming cycle, with the aim of promoting harmonious and fruitful cooperation among the Mediterranean countries.
Read the article about the ENI CBC Med Programme
The special issue of "Il Sole 24 Ore" also contains a article about the pilot actions of the CROSSDEV project for the development of sustainable tourism in Sicily.
Pictures: sources acknowledgement
- Emanuela del Re, Italian Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Source: © Ministero per gli Affari Esteri e la Cooperazione Internazionale
- Ambassador Nasser Kamel, Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean. Source: © Union for the Mediterranean
- Christian Solinas, President of the Region of Sardinia. Source: © Ufficio Stampa - Regione Autonoma della Sardegna
