The EU-funded initiative “Horizon 2020” which aims to reduce the degree of pollution in the Mediterranean by identifying and addressing its most significant sources by 2020 is the focus of the latest Eurojar article published in the Lebanese daily L’Orient Le Jour.
The feature says the initiative was launched in 2005, when Mediterranean partners, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Euro-Med partnership, committed to adopting a realistic timetable for the de-pollution of the Mediterranean Sea by 2020 as well as the financial and technical instruments necessary for its implementation. Horizon 2020 was conceived as an umbrella initiative to catalyse and enhance coordination between different actors around the Mediterranean, involving various organizations and bilateral and regional programs, offering their expertise in the field of the fight against pollution of the Mediterranean.
"H2020 does not fund projects. Based on existing structures, we help develop a regional approach to bring together all stakeholders who may be involved in a project," explains Andrew Murphy, expert at the DG Environment of the European Commission. ”There is actually already a multitude of targeted projects. But projects are often limited geographically and temporally. With 2020, we develop a strategy for the de-pollution of the Mediterranean; we establish a proper policy for large-scale action” he adds.
The end of the first phase in 2009 saw one of the greatest successes of the H2020 initiative: The Mediterranean Hot Spot Investment Programme (MeHSIP), which seeks to identify the areas which are most in need of support and help the partner countries in the implementation of priority investment de-pollution projects. The initiative also includes capacity building activities, and all 27 activities listed on its roadmap have been launched.
Eurojar is one of 13 projects funded across the ENPI under EuropeAid’s €19 million Regional Information and Communication Programme, which seeks to increase awareness and understanding among the citizens of the area, about the EU, its policies and relations with their countries. The Eurojar budget amounts to €1.5 million and the project will last for one year. As well as l’Orient Le Jour, it publishes articles highlighting EU cooperation in Al-Hayat and Le Commerce du Levant, and broadcasts weekly reportages on LBCI and LBCSat.
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Eurojar feature: Horizon 2020, a comprehensive EU initiative to fight pollution in the Mediterranean
