On Thursday, 12 October, MEP Paolo Borchia (ID, Italian) presented his report on the European partnership for the Mediterranean, PRIMA (see EUROPE 13254/15 and 13232/2), to the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) with a view to extending its active phase until 2027.
Mr Borchia hailed this partnership as a science diplomacy and policy instrument in the Mediterranean region. In his view, the programme is more than just a regional instrument: it serves geopolitical priorities that show a collective interest.
The MEP opted for a limited number of changes to the European Commission’s proposal so as to focus on the programme’s continuity.
He insisted on the need for complementarity between PRIMA and other European initiatives in order to avoid overlap.
However, Paolo Borchia would like for actions carried out under the framework of Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe to be evaluated in accordance with the Horizon [2020] evaluation standards.
The draft report also proposes strengthening transparency and monitoring measures. While parliamentary oversight is already guaranteed by Article 52 of the regulation, Mr Borchia believes that PRIMA should also give the European Parliament direct access to information on the actions it funds.
The MEP also proposes deleting paragraph 3 of Article 4 of the legislative proposal, which introduced a regular assessment by the European Commission of whether the participating States were fulfilling the commitments they made and which gave [the institution] the option of taking any appropriate measures.
Pavel Misiga, head of unit for Circular Economy and Biobased Systems at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, welcomed the fact that the draft parliamentary report identifies PRIMA as an important element of science diplomacy and scientific collaboration and recognises its strategic geopolitical importance. However, he lamented the deletion of paragraph 3 of Article 4, which was designed to protect the EU’s financial interests and, thus, European taxpayers.
All the shadow rapporteurs present welcomed the report. Maria Carvalho (EPP, Portuguese) indicated that she would be tabling amendments in order to stress the importance of science diplomacy as well as cooperation between PRIMA and other national and European initiatives. She would also like to improve communication about PRIMA and for [the partnership’s] future to be mentioned in the recitals at the very least. Lina Gálvez Muñoz (S&D, Spanish) agreed with many of these points and is hoping for greater ambition in future.
Valter Flego (Renew Europe, Croatian) drew attention to the issue of water, particularly leaking pipes. He insisted on the need for fair and acceptable prices for agricultural products.
The issue of water was also of concern to Ladislav Ilčić (ECR, Croatian), who is planning to ask the European Commission to consider extending PRIMA’s scope to clean energies as part of the partnership’s revision.
The deadline for tabling amendments was Thursday afternoon. The vote in committee could be held on 7 December. Ms Gálvez Muñoz hoped that the plenary vote would follow soon after.
Further information: https://aeur.eu/f/90v (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)