BRUSSELS, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission on Tuesday proposed a new initiative to support the sustainable management of water and food systems in the Mediterranean by pooling know-how and financial resources.
The initiative PRIMA, which stands for Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area, is a strategic research partnership between the EU and participating states.
"EU research and innovation is open to the world so we can tackle global challenges together," said Carlos Moedas, EU commissioner for research, science and innovation.
"It will bring more clean water and food to the people, boost local economies and create jobs. Through PRIMA, research and innovation will play a crucial role in addressing the root causes of migration," he added.
The proposal already includes Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Spain and Tunisia.
The participation of Germany is currently under negotiation. As the initiative is evolving, more participants are expected to follow, both EU and non-EU countries.
So far, participating states have committed around 200 million euros (219 million U.S. dollars), matched by a contribution of up to 200 million euros from the EU through its current research framework program Horizon 2020.
The initiative is set to start in 2018 and will run for ten years.
It was launched against a backdrop that, in recent years, climate change and unsustainable resource management have brought severe water stress to the Mediterranean area, particularly in the agricultural sector.
About 180 million people in the Mediterranean basin are considered "water poor", causing negative effects like unemployment and migration.
