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Initiative to promote the integration of renewable energies into the treatment and reuse of municipal and industrial waste waters in the territories of the Mediterranean partners, 1995-1996

 
MED-TECHNO is one of several Community programmes established to reinforce sectoral cooperation between appropriate bodies in the European Union and the Mediterranean non-member countries. Others include MED-URBS (decentralized cooperation between municipal authorities), MED-MEDIA (cooperation in the media sector), MED-CAMPUS (cooperation between universities), and MED-MIGRATION (cooperation between appropriate bodies dealing with migration issues).

For the period 1995/96, MED-TECHNO addresses the integration of renewable energies into the treatment and re-use of municipal and industrial waste waters in the territories of the MNCs. This theme was chosen as a "first target problem" because of the general importance, in the Mediterranean region, of ensuring the supply of sufficient amounts of water of appropriate quality. The challenge is to meet the growing demand for water while maintaining ecosystem integrity and, at the same time, achieving sustainable development. This will require new approaches to water management. The programme is to be carried out through networks comprising public and private bodies and SMEs in both the MNCs and the European Union.

The expected benefits of MED-TECHNO actions during the period 1995/96 include the following:

- The establishment of partnerships between EU and circum-Mediterranean teams combining university, governmental, municipal and private entities in networks/projects, which are likely to continue to cooperate when EU financial support has been exhausted;

- Joint work on innovative structural and non-structural approaches to the treatment and reuse of waste water integrating the use of various renewable energy sources. Such approaches will allow the identification of the most promising technical options and the assessment of their potential application in small and medium municipalities and industries in the non-EU Mediterranean region;

- As a spin-off, mechanisms for the transfer of technology should be established and tested in concrete projects, including the innovative combination and adaptation of existing or known techniques;

- Pilot projects, initiated under the programme, could act as a catalyst for wider applications in other parts of the Mediterranean region and as focal points for collaborative projects;

- Eventual barriers to the diffusion and integration of existing and innovative technologies and concepts will be identified and ways and means to promote them proposed. The impact of national legislation and policies, such as energy policies, water management policies including water process, taxation, etc. and of state environment policies, will be assessed and better understood, as well as the role and impact of international (regional or global) activities.

The programme is fully in line with the new orientations of the European Union's Mediterranean policy, as set out in the 1995 Commission Communication concerning proposals to implement a "Euro-Mediterranean Partnership" (COM(95) 72). This strategy underlines the need to continue the decentralized cooperation started in 1992 which is aimed at building networks linking institutions and organizations on both sides of the Mediterranean.
To improve the application of efficient technologies in the Mediterranean non-member countries (MNCs) by stimulating the sharing of European expertise with expertise and users of technology in the MNCs; To stimulate cooperation between different MNCs in order to contribute to the development of regional approaches to common problems.
One area:

- Exploitation of municipal and industrial waste waters as an additional source of water for different applications in agriculture, aquaculture or forestry and in industry, using renewable sources of energy.
The Commission is responsible for implementing MED-TECHNO, assisted by the Agency for Trans-Mediterranean Networks.

Activities under MED-TECHNO are open to both public and private organizations, institutions and companies established in the Mediterranean non-member countries (Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, the Palestinian Territories, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey) and in the EU Member States. The actions eligible for support under the programme are limited to the treatment and reuse of waste waters from medium sized municipalities of up to 250,000 inhabitants and from SMEs (up to 500 employees und with an annual turnover below ECU 10 million), both to be based in MNCs.

The Commission launched calls for Expressions of Interest (EoI) on 27 June 1995 in order to get a measure of the interest and capacities in the areas covered by MED-TECHNO. The EoI, which closed on 31 August 1995, was open to research and technological institutions (public and private), municipalities and to industries involved in the waste water sector in both the MNCs and the Member States of the European Union.

On the basis of the areas identified from the EoI, calls for proposals are to be launched for Joint Development Projects and/or networks. Calls for proposals are scheduled to be launched in mid-December and to close on 15 February 1996. Proposals submitted before the deadline are evaluated by the Commission with assistance from independent experts from Europe and the MNCs. Contract negotiation is scheduled to start in February 1996.

Joint Development Projects (JDPs), at laboratory or small pilot scale, cover such activities as:
. Adaptation of existing technologies and the development of innovative solutions:
. Selection and training of appropriate personnel for the implementation and monitoring of the project;
. Socio-economic and environmental assessment, examination of cost-benefits and application potential, evaluation of eventual barriers and consideration of long-term impacts and consequences;

JDPs are implemented by means of shared-cost contracts, with the Community's financial participation not normally exceeding 50% of the total costs of a project up to a maximum of ECU 250,000 per annum. The maximum size of MNC municipalities involved in a JDP should not surpass 250.000 inhabitants and participating enterprises must fall under the SME criteria mentioned above. JDPs cover a period of 36 months.

Support is also provided for well-targeted networks which may include scientists, technical experts, industries (polluters and environmental industries), public administrations and authorities (municipalities and others), NGOs, and other interested institutions. Networks will serve as a forum for intensifying the exchange and discussion of practical experience and S&T know-how with the aim of identifying approaches and/or technologies which could help solve specific problems targeted by the network. Each network should prepare specific joint activities and should possess the potential to continue after Community support has been exhausted.

Community support for networks is limited to a maximum of 24 months. The Community does not provide a financial contribution towards the cost of work carried out by the network participants, but reimbourses up to 100% of networking costs, such as meetings, travel, scientific support including centralized facilities, short-term exchanges and the training of scientific and technical personnel. If a network requires studies to be carried out, these must be foreseen from the outset and described in the proposal. The cost of such studies should not exceed ECU 50,000 per year of the network's duration.

While proposals for both Joint Development Projects and Networks must emphasize the technological aspects of waste water treatment and re-use, including the transfer and adaptation of technologies developed elsewhere to specific Mediterranean conditions, research elements needed to close gaps in the available knowledge may be integrated into the proposed work. Details of the socio-economic, technology assessment and prospective studies required for the evaluation of the realistic implementation potential of the proposed approach should also be included.