European Commission

Mediterranean Neighbours

The European Union co-operates with the countries of the eastern and southern Mediterranean in the context of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP). Launched in 1995 by the Barcelona Declaration this multilateral partnership is also known as the Barcelona Process.

The Barcelona Declaration set up a process that comprises two complementary dimensions:

Bilateral dimension. With each partner country the European Union has signed an Association Agreement. These Agreements reflect the general principles governing the Euro-Mediterranean relationship, although they each contain characteristics specific to the relations between the EU and each Mediterranean Partner. All Association agreements include a section on environment.
Regional dimension. Regional dialogue represents one of the most innovative aspects of the Partnership, covering political, economic and cultural fields. Regional co-operation has a considerable strategic impact, as it deals with problems that are common to many Mediterranean Partners, while it emphasises national complementarities.

The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership now includes 39 members - 27 EU Member States and 12 Mediterranean Partners (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Albania and Mauritania). Libya has observer status since 1999.

In 2004 the European Union launched the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), whose aim is to strengthen relations between the EU and its neighbours. The policy covers Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, West Bank and Gaza, Syria and Tunisia. This policy reinforces the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, while using all its institutions and mechanisms. The environmental chapter of the National Action Plans agreed with partner countries under the ENP will be implemented primarily through discussions that will take place in bilateral Environment Subcommittees under each ratified Association Agreement.

The MEDA programme had been the main EU financial instrument for the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership but came to an end in 2006.

From 2007 onwards, the MEDA and TACIS programmes were replaced by a single instrument - the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI). This is a more flexible, policy-driven instrument, designed to target sustainable development and approximation to EU policies and standards - supporting the agreed priorities in the ENP Action Plans and/or the Association Agreement (as well as the Strategic Partnership with Russia).

For the budgetary period 2007-2013, approximately €12,3 billion in EC funding will be available for the whole ENPI region, an increase of 32% in real terms. Funds allocated to individual country programmes will depend on their needs and absorption capacity as well as their implementation of agreed reforms.

International Financial Institutions such as the European Investment Bank are also active in funding environmental actions in the Mediterranean region.

Environmental Policy in the Mediterranean

The Mediterranean countries have a long history of co-operation in the field of the environment, considered to be a shared value of common interest. The Mediterranean environment is recognised by specialists as one of the richest and most vulnerable in the world, in particular regarding its biodiversity. The Mediterranean countries have continued their joint efforts for the protection of this shared environment at a multilateral level for more than 25 years, in spite of cultural, political, economic or technical differences.

The European Commission strategy for the region is outlined in a Commission Communication establishing an environmental strategy for the Mediterranean. The strategy's key aims are to:

Reduce pollution levels across the region
Promote sustainable use of the sea and its coastline
Encourage neighbouring countries to cooperate on environmental issues
Assist partner countries in developing effective institutions and policies to protect the environment
Involve NGOs and the public in environmental decisions affecting them.

In line with the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, these aims will be achieved through four means: financial assistance from existing and already planned EU aid programmes; strengthened dialogue with the region's representatives; improved coordination with other organisations and partners; and sharing of EU experience in dealing with the problems of the Mediterranean and other regions.

Horizon 2020

A key pillar of the environmental strategy for the Mediterranean is 'Horizon 2020', an initiative to tackle the top sources of Mediterranean pollution by the year 2020 that was endorsed by leaders of Euro-Mediterranean countries at the 10^th Anniversary Euro-Mediterranean Summit in Barcelona in 2005.

The Mediterranean strategy fleshes out the detail of Horizon 2020, grouping planned activities under four headings:

Projects to reduce the most significant sources of pollution. The initial focus will be on industrial emissions, municipal waste and urban waste water, which are responsible for up to 80% of Mediterranean Sea pollution.
Capacity-building measures to help neighbouring countries create national environmental administrations that are able to develop and police environmental laws.
Using the Commission's research budget to develop greater knowledge of environmental issues relevant to the Mediterranean and ensure this is shared.
Developing indicators to monitor the success of Horizon 2020.

The MEDA (2000-2006) programme financed projects under the Short and Medium Term Priority Environmental Action Programme (SMAP) a regional Programme that constituted the common basis for environmental actions (as regards both policy and funding orientation, at regional and national levels) in the context of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. DG Envinronment's LIFE-Third Countries programme provided technical assistance to the region until it came to an end in 2006.

Barcelona Convention

The key forum for the protection of the marine and coastal environment in the Mediterranean is the Barcelona Convention; this Convention and its Protocols provide the legal basis for the multilateral co-operation aiming at protecting the environment and fostering sustainable development in the Mediterranean Basin through the work of the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP), the MED POL Programme (the marine pollution assessment and control component of MAP) and the Regional Activity Centres, each of which deals with a specific issue.

The Mediterranean Commission for Sustainable Development (MCSD) is an Advisory Forum consisting of representatives of the contracting parties to the Barcelona Convention, local/regional organisations, private enterprises and NGOs. Under its auspices was developed the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD).

The EU is a Contracting Party to the Barcelona Convention, represented by the European Commission. The Commission participates actively in the elaboration and implementation of the MAP Work Programme, ensuring, inter alia, its consistence and complementarity with other EU Mediterranean-related policies and financing possibilities, in particular ENP, H2020, the EU RTD framework programmes and the Development Cooperation Instrument. The Barcelona Convention and the Ecosystem Approach to the management of human activities that it is implementing, constitute an appropriate framework for the regional cooperation required for the implementation by the EU Mediterranean Member States of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on the Environment, 20 November 2006, Cairo:
- Final Declaration (pdf 21-22k)
- Horizon 2020 Timetable 2007-2013 (pdf 31-36k)
- Communication flyer (pdf 620K)
- Life in the Mediterranean flyer (pdf 847K)

Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament: "Establishing an Environment Strategy for the Mediterranean"

- Annex (pdf~151k)