The new Interreg NEXT ‘Mediterranean Sea Basin’ (NEXT MED) Programme launched its first call for proposals! 

The Programme is a transnational cooperation initiative all about bridging the countries of the Mediterranean area to build partnerships in acting towards a more sustainable future. The novelty of the Programme lies within the broadened area of action: Algeria and Turkey are included in the eligible countries and are eligible to access project fundings!

Eager to join the challenge in creating a smarter, greener, more inclusive, and better governed Mediterranean region?

Eligible countries: geographical area of action

The cooperation area covers different regions among 15 countries:

• Algeria | Tlemcen, Ain-Temouchent, Oran, Mostaganem, Chlef, Tipaza, Boumerdes, Tizi Ouzou, Bejaia, Jijel, Skikda, Annaba, El-Tarf, Alger
• Cyprus | whole country
• Egypt | Matruh, Al Iskandariyah (Alexandria), Al Buhayrah (Behera), Kafr-el-sheikh, Ash Sharqiyah (Sharkia), Al Daqahliyah (Dakahlia), Dumyat (Damietta), As Ismailiyah (Ismailia), Bur Said (Port Said), Governorate of Cairo
• France | Languedoc-Roussillon, Midi-Pyrénées, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Corse
• Greece | Aττική/Attiki, Βόρειο Αιγαίο/Voreio Aigaio, Νότιο Αιγαίο/Notio Aigaio, Κρήτη/Kriti, Aνατολική Μακεδονία, Θράκη/Anatoliki Makedonia, Thraki, Κεντρική Μακεδονία/Kentriki Makedonia, Δυτική Μακεδονία/Dytiki Makedonia, Ήπειρος/Ipeiros, Θεσσαλία/Thessalia, Ιόνια Νησιά/Ionia Nisia, Δυτική Ελλάδα/Dytiki Elláda, Στερεά Ελλάδα/Sterea Elláda, EL65 Πελοπόννησος/Peloponnisos
• Israel | whole country
• Italy | Liguria, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicilia, Sardegna, Toscana, Lazio
• Jordan | whole country
• Lebanon | whole country
• Malta | whole country
• Palestine | whole country
• Portugal | Algarve
• Spain | Cataluña, Comunitat Valenciana, Illes Balears, Andalucía, Región de Murcia, Ciudad de Ceuta, Ciudad de Melilla
• Tunisia | Zaghouan, Kairouan, Sidi Bouz, Manouba, Siliana, Le Kef, Gafsa, Kebili, Tataouine, Jendouba, Beja, Bizerte, Ariana, Tunis, Ben Arous, Nabeul, Sousse, Monastir, Mahdia, Sfax, Gabes, Medenine
• Türkiye | Tekirdağ, Edirne, Kırklareli, Balıkesir, Çanakkale, Izmir, Aydın, Denizli, Muğla, Manisa, Afyonkarahisar, Kütahya, Uşak, Antalya, Isparta, Burdur, Adana, Mersin, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Osmaniye

Budget and priorities

The overall budget allocated for the Programme is €253 million, of which €230 million entirely dedicated to project funding.

This first call for project proposals has a budget allocation of €103 million, distributed in 4 broad priorities and 9 specific objectives:

Priority 1: A more competitive and smarter Mediterranean (budget: €66.6 million)

Objectives:

– Developing and enhancing research and innovation capacities and the uptake of advanced technologies

– Enhancing sustainable growth and competitiveness of SMEs and job creation in SMEs, including by productive investments

Priority 2: A greener, low-carbon and resilient Mediterranean (budget: €96.9 million)

Objectives:

– Promoting energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions

– Promoting climate change adaptation and disaster risk prevention, resilience taking into account eco-system based approaches

– Promoting access to water and sustainable water management

– Promoting the transition to a circular and resource efficient economy

Priority 3: A more social and inclusive Mediterranean (budget: €48.8 million)

Objectives:

– Improving equal access to inclusive and quality services in education, training and lifelong learning through developing accessible infrastructure, including by fostering resilience for distance and on-line education and training

– Ensuring equal access to health care and fostering resilience of health systems, including primary care, and promoting the transition from institutional to family – and community-based care

Priority 4: A better cooperation governance for the Mediterranean (budget: €17.7 million)

Objectives:

– Fostering local governance models and processes through cross-sectoral, multilevel and cross-border partnerships, encouraging the cooperation and dialogue between citizens, civil society actors and institutions in view of addressing issues of joint interest at local level through transnational exchanges, bottom-up and participatory approaches

#MEDCONNECT: Find partners for your project idea

#MEDCONNECT is the brand-new platform designed specifically for this Programme to facilitate connections among diverse stakeholders throughout the Mediterranean region, fostering collaboration for successful project development. 

The Programme Managing Authority (Autonomous Region of Sardinia) set up an online interactive tool, called MURAL canvas, to help navigate all project proposals and find who is looking to join forces in a partnership. All you need is access the tool at this link as guest and navigate the proposals by clicking on them.

You can as well submit your own project idea, and find potential partners interested in joining forces. All is needed is fill in two separate google forms created by the Managing Authority:

• Partner form, to be posted on MURAL for others to access your contact information
• Organisation form, if your organization is interested in joining project partnerships
• Project idea form, to share your project idea on MURAL

Start now your search for potential partners and projects and hop on the call to enable cooperation among the Mediterranean territories!

Supportive documents to design a winning project proposal

The Managing Authority organised an online information event to support the interested applicants in understanding the programme and learning the best tips on how to design a winning project proposal. The informative documents are available for download at this link. We suggest checking them to be aware of all the requirements and the budgetary matters that needs to be taken into account to make sure your project proposal is ready to be submitted.

The project proposals need to be submitted only in English or French via the online application portal. All documents needed for the submission process are available at this link.

As always, the AER Project Unit is available to support you throughout all the necessary steps to participate in the call.

We have good news!

The deadline for submitting project proposals has been extended until 30 May 2024 at 1 pm (CET).

More info on the new extended deadline are available in the Interreg NEXT MED website at this link.

The AER x Interreg NEXT MED webinar with the Managing Authority

The AER organised a joint webinar with the Interreg NEXT MED Managing Authority, the Autonomous Region of Sardinia on 14 March 2024.

The webinar was a great opportunity for all applicants to get to know more about the vision and strategy behind the whole Funding Programme, being the largest EU-funded transnational cooperation Programme in the Mediterranean Sea Basin. With cooperation at the heart of its purpose, the Programme finances many project proposals whose focus should be striving for real-world impacts, transcending mere dialogues aiming at increased community impacts, and maximising the benefits to the end-users.

With many dedicated Q&A sessions directly with the Managing Authority of the Programme, the participants had the opportunity to ask directly dedicated questions to understand better how the funding Programme works, what regions are eligible for the funding and how specifically the first call for project proposals works. The Managing Authority also gave interesting outlooks on the future calls for project proposals foreseen by the Programme: the second call will focus on the Green Transition and is expected in 2024, with an approximate total budget of 80.6 M€, the third will focus on Capitalisation and is expected in 2025 with an estimate total budget of 34.5 M€, and the last one is expected in 2026 with an approximate total budget of 11.5 M€ focused on Consolidation.

You can access the webinar presentations here and the recording of the whole event is available here.

If you’re one of our member regions, do not miss this opportunity and ask the AER Project Unit for more details!

Photo credit: Unsplash

Photo credit: Interreg NEXT MED