The Mediterranean in 2020 - Issue number 15/2006

This "Statistics in Focus" aims at giving a first answer to the statistical needs expressed within the Horizon 2020 initiative, recently launched by the European Commission whose objective is to de pollute the Mediterranean by 2020. This issue defines the current statistical coverage with its limits for the three key topics of Horizon 2020, which are urban waste, urban wastewater and industrial emissions. Finally, it attempts to identify a set of tracks which could potentially contribute to the enhancement of the production of official statistics, as well as of the service to the users, such as Horizon 2020 initiative.