Interreg NEXT ‘Mediterranean Sea Basin’ (‘NEXT MED’) programme is the third generation of one of the largest cooperation initiatives funded by the European Union to enhance transnational cooperation in the Mediterranean area.
Building on the experience and results of the ENPI (2007-2013) and ENI (2014-2020) cross-border cooperation (CBC) Med programmes, NEXT MED will continue boosting Euro-Mediterranean cooperation for the period 2021-2027 under the framework of the European Union’s Cohesion Policy and its specific ‘Interreg’ instrument which supports European Territorial Cooperation across regions and countries. NEXT MED is implemented under strand B ‘Transnational cooperation’ of the external dimension of Interreg, allowing for cooperation over larger transnational territories or around sea basins between EU Member States and Southern Neighbourhood partner countries.
The Programme 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.
The cooperation area, home to over 200 million inhabitants, covers 15 countries: 13 of them which already participated in the previous editions of the programme – Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Jordan, Malta, Palestine, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia – and two new members, namely Algeria and Türkiye (Turkey).
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The global amount of the European Union contribution to the Programme is €253 million, including €230 million for project funding and €23 million for Technical Assistance (dedicated to management and implementation). The budget comes from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA III) and the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI).
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