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Commissioner Dimas convenes
high-level meeting to clean up the Mediterranean region
by 2020
An ambitious initiative to de-pollute
the Mediterranean region by 2020 will be launched at a
high-level Euro-Mediterranean Partnership meeting in
Barcelona on 19 December. The ‘Horizon 2020’ initiative
was endorsed by the heads of state and government of the
Euro-Mediterranean Partnership at their Barcelona summit
on 27-28 November. The 19 December meeting, which is
convened by the European Environment Commissioner
Stavros Dimas, will kick off a broad stakeholder
consultation with the aim of establishing a detailed
action plan’ for the initiative by the end of next year.
Environment ministers from the Mediterranean region,
including host-country minister Cristina Narbona, will
attend the meeting.
Commissioner Dimas said: “The
environment of the Mediterranean Sea region is in need
of urgent attention and action. Heads of state and
government of the Mediterranean countries recognised
this last month when they agreed to de-pollute the
region by 2020, as proposed by the European Commission.
I have convened this meeting so that we can kick off
immediately the process of identifying the actors,
priority actions, timetable and financial resources
needed for a roadmap to be agreed during 2006.” He
underlined that the objective of ‘Horizon 2020’ cannot
be achieved without active and concerted efforts by all
those with a stake in the Mediterranean environment.
Despite a number of ongoing efforts
to protect it, the Mediterranean Sea and its shores
suffer a number of environmental problems due to
pollution from various sources, including emissions from
industrial activities, municipal waste management and
urban wastewater pollution as a result of growing
tourism.
The Barcelona meeting will bring
together a wide range of stakeholders to discuss their
possible contributions: representatives of national
environmental authorities in the Mediterranean region,
Mediterranean cities and regions, environment agencies,
the business sector and NGOs. The European Environment
Agency and the UN Environment Programme’s Mediterranean
Action Plan (UNEP-MAP) will be key partners.
International financial institutions, including the
European Investment Bank and the World Bank, will also
be represented. At their summit, Euro-Mediterranean
Partnership leaders stressed the importance of adequate
financing for the success of ‘Horizon 2020.’
Strengthened cooperation with
Mediterranean partners
‘Horizon 2020’ is part of a renewed EU push for
cooperation with its Mediterranean partners in the
context of both the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (the
‘Barcelona process’) and the European Neighbourhood
Policy (ENP). The Union has already concluded ENP Action
Plans with most of its southern and eastern
Mediterranean neighbours. These plans aim at closer
cooperation in key political, economic and social areas,
including the environment.
In total, the EU has devoted €577
million to environmental cooperation with Mediterranean
partner countries in the period 1995 to 2006 under the
MEDA programme, the EU’s principal financial instrument
for implementing the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. The
outcome of the current discussions on the EU budget for
the period 2007-2013 will establish the amounts to be
devoted to environmental cooperation in the
Mediterranean under the European Neighbourhood Policy
financial Instrument. EU assistance will also be
provided for environmental cooperation with the Balkan
countries and Turkey. These countries will also
participate in the initiative to de-pollute the
Mediterranean. |
