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On 1 February 2016, the European Commission (EC) has launched a public consultation on the future of the joint research and innovation programme "PRIMA - the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area". PRIMA's general objective is to reinforce cooperation in Research and Innovation in Mediterranean countries in order to contribute to the challenges of sustainable food production and water provision in the Mediterranean region.

Preparation of the PRIMA initiative started in 2013, preceded a by a long-standing cooperation (almost 20 years) between the Mediterranean countries. In 2012 the EC gave a decisive impetus by indicating the potential of using Art. 185 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) for implementing the partnership between EU and non-EU countries of the region. Nine Member States - Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain – submitted a proposal for the participation of the EU in PRIMA under Art. 185 TFEU. In addition, seven non-EU countries (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey) will also take part in the programme. The launch of first calls for PRIMA proposals is foreseen for 2017 and a total of two hundred million euros have been committed for this initiative for an over ten years period. However, those commitments are subject to the use of Art. 185 TFEU and therefore the application of this article is deemed to be critical for the successful implementation of the programme.

The purpose of the consultation it to gather views and opinions on the need for an EU action in the area, as well as to evaluate its potential economic, social and environmental impact. The consultation particularly seeks input in relation to the preparation of a potential EU contribution to PRIMA. Based on the results of the consultation, the decision concerning the use of Article 185 TFEU will be taken, subject to the legislative co-decision procedure by the European Council and the European Parliament.
The consultation will run until 24 April 2016. Opinions are particularly sought from research organisations, universities and academic institutions, public authorities, local communities, large businesses, small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), business associations (including farmer associations), inter-governmental organisations, non-governmental organisations and individual citizens.

All organisations and citizens wishing to have their say in the consultation process are invited to visit the following website:
http://www.ec.europa.eu/research/consultations/prima/consultation_en.htm

More information on PRIMA can be found here:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=prima

A summary report on the consultation, outlining the collected views, will be prepared by the EC by 20 May 2016.