- The first calls for research and innovation projects will be launched in 2018
- The participating countries will promote a common agenda focused on the management of water resources and sustainable agriculture
The European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas and the Secretary of State for R + D + i, Carmen Vela have presented the PRIMA initiative in Madrid (Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area). The program will have 494 million euros to develop and apply innovative, efficient and sustainable solutions for the production and supply of food and water in the Mediterranean.
PRIMA groups 11 European countries (Germany, Cyprus, Croatia, Slovenia, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta and Portugal) and 8 countries bordering the Mediterranean (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey). It also has the important backing of the European Union and is open to the participation of other interested countries, especially the Union for the Mediterranean and countries associated with the EU's research and innovation program, Horizon 2020.
PRIMA has a budget of 494 million euros for the next seven years, of which Spain will contribute 30 million euros. In total, 274 million euros will be provided by participating countries, while the European Union will contribute an additional 220 million. PRIMA will promote an ambitious scientific and innovation agenda to face the challenges related to water and food in the Mediterranean, focusing in particular on sustainable agricultural systems, the agri-food value chain for local development and the sustainable management of water resources .
The first PRIMA calls will be launched in early 2018 and will be managed by the PRIMA Foundation, located in Barcelona. The calls will be open to consortia of the participating countries. This international initiative, unprecedented in the field of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, opens avenues of collaboration between countries in equality and mutual benefit with the aim of facing the great common challenges in the Mediterranean.
The presentation has brought together more than two hundred representatives of universities, companies, public research organizations and other agents of the Spanish science, technology and innovation system, as well as representatives of other countries and international organizations interested in this new research strategy. During the presentation ceremony, two round tables were held, moderated by the Secretary General for Science and Innovation, Juan María Vázquez and the Director General of the Center for Technological and Industrial Development, Francisco Marín, in which they reviewed the strengths of this initiative to face through scientific research and technological development the common challenges of the Mediterranean countries.
