Interreg NEXT ‘Mediterranean Sea Basin’ (hereinafter ‘NEXT MED’) transnational cooperation programme is a collaboration work among the national representatives of 15 countries – namely Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Jordan, Malta, Palestine, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia and Türkiye (Turkey).

Building on the previous programme of ENI (2014-2020) cross-border cooperation (CBC) Med programmes, NEXT MED will continue supporting Euro-Mediterranean cooperation for the period 2021-2027 under the framework of the European Union’s Cohesion Policy and its specific ‘Interreg’ instrument – allowing for cooperation over larger transnational territories or around sea basins between EU Member States and Southern Neighbourhood partner countries.

Increased budget

The global amount of the European Union contribution to the Programme is about €253 million, including around €230 million for project funding and €23 million for Technical Assistance (dedicated to the management and implementation) – 21% increase compared to the previous ENI CBC Med programme.

The maximum EU contribution per project will be 90% of its total cost, while at least a 10% co-financing shall be ensured by the project partnership.

Joint priorities to address together shared challenges

Interreg NEXT MED aims to contribute to smart, sustainable, fair development for all across the Mediterranean basin by supporting balanced, long-lasting, far-reaching cooperation and multilevel governance. The programme mission is to finance cooperation projects that address joint socio-economic, environmental and governance challenges at Mediterranean level such as the uptake of advanced technologies, competitiveness of SMEs and job creation, energy efficiency, sustainable water management, climate change adaptation, transition to a circular and resource efficient economy, education and training, health care, etc.

NETX MED thematic strategy is structured around 4 broad objectives, declined into 9 specific objectives as follows:

Policy Objective 1 ‘A more competitive and smarter Mediterranean’

A total of €66.6 million is allocated to Policy Objective 1, corresponding to 29% of the Programme budget.

Policy Objective 2 ‘A greener, low-carbon and resilient Mediterranean’. A total of €96.9 million is allocated to Policy Objective 2, corresponding to 42% of the Programme budget.

Policy Objective 3 ‘A more social and inclusive Mediterranean’. A total of €48.8 million is allocated to Policy Objective 3, corresponding to 21% of the Programme budget.

Interreg specific objective ‘A better cooperation governance for the Mediterranean’. A total of €17.7 million is allocated to the Interreg Specific Objective, corresponding to 8% of the Programme budget.

The first call for proposals is expected to be launched starting from mid-2023 and will tackle all Programme Policy and Specific Objectives as described above.