REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Interim Evaluation of the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA)
Date: 2023-05-31
Institutions: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission
Subjects: Mediterranean region (EU), Mediterranean third countries, Union for the Mediterranean, food systems, innovation, research and development, research programme, scientific cooperation, self-sufficiency in food, water resources

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 31.5.2023  COM(2023) 285 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Interim Evaluation of the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) {SWD(2023) 169 final}  
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

Interim Evaluation of the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the 
Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) 

1.  INTRODUCTION 

This  report  presents  the  findings  of  an  interim  evaluation  in  compliance  with  Art.  14  of 
Decision (EU) 2017/1324 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2017 on 
the  participation  of  the  Union  in  the  Partnership  for  Research  and  Innovation  in  the 
Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) jointly undertaken by several Member States1.  

The Decision requires the Commission to conduct an interim evaluation of PRIMA with the 
assistance  of  independent  experts  by  30  June  2022.  The  Commission  has  to  also  prepare  a 
report on that evaluation which includes the conclusions of the evaluation and observations 
by the Commission. The Commission shall submit that report to the European Parliament and 
to the Council by 31 December 2022. 
The interim  evaluation  of  PRIMA is  based on an external  study2.  It  covers the period from 
the inception of PRIMA (2017) until March 2022. A Call for Evidence has been published3 
and the results have been taken into consideration. 

This  report  summarises  the  main  conclusions  of  the  interim  evaluation  and  includes  the 
Commission's ensuing observations. 

2.  CONTEX AND OVERVIEW OF PRIMA 

Water provision and food systems in the Mediterranean area are unsustainably managed. This 
challenge  is  being  exacerbated  by  climate  change  and  has  important  downstream  impacts 
including social and economic stress, instability and migration. 

One  of  the  key  reasons  for  the  unsustainable  management  of  water  provision  and  food 
systems in the Mediterranean area is the lack of a set of common innovative solutions that are 
adapted  to  the  local  realities  of  the  region  and  easily  transferable  across  it,  and  have  been 
fully piloted and demonstrated on the ground4. 

These  solutions  are  not  forthcoming  because  the  overall  level  of  research  and  innovation 
investment  in  the  Mediterranean  area  is  not  commensurate  with  the  size  of  the  regional 
challenges; investment levels differ greatly between countries; funding is not well focused on 
addressing  the  water  and  food  provision  and  management  challenges;  the  relevant 
stakeholders  involved  –  for  instance  private  sector  ones  –  do  not  always  have  sufficiently 
strong research and innovation capabilities; and the research and innovation and collaboration 

1 OJ L 185, 18.7.2017, p. 1. 
2 Evaluation study on the European Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation for addressing Global Challenges 
and Industrial Competitiveness - Focus on activities related to the green transition –RTD/2021/SC/023 - Interim Evaluation 
of the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) (forthcoming) 
3 https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/13558-Partnership-on-Research-and-Innovation-in-
the-Mediterranean-Area-PRIMA-first-interim-evaluation_en 
4 SWD(2016)332 PRIMA's Impact Assessment 

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efforts between EU Member States and Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries are too 
scattered (mostly governed by bilateral agreements) to have a significant impact. 

PRIMA was established in response to these challenges, in order to make water provision and 
management,  and  food  systems  more  climate  resilient,  efficient,  cost-effective  and 
environmentally and socially sustainable. The initiative follows Article 185 of the Treaty on 
the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union  (TFEU)5  as  well  as  Article  26  on  “Public-public 
partnerships”  of  Regulation  (EU)  No  1291/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council6, the regulation  governing  the Framework programme for Research and  Innovation 
Horizon 2020. Decision (EU) 2017/1324 of the European Parliament and of the Council- the 
basic act  of PRIMA  mandates a high level  of commitment by the participating countries to 
integrate at scientific, management and financial levels7. It also implies that the Participating 
States (PS) voluntarily integrate their research efforts and define and commit themselves to a 
joint research programme to the added value of the EU.  

The PRIMA programme consists of the following Participating States: 11 EU Member States 
(Croatia,  Cyprus,  France,  Germany,  Greece,  Italy,  Luxembourg,  Malta,  Portugal,  Slovenia, 
and Spain); 3 Associated Countries to Horizon 2020 (Israel, Tunisia and Türkiye) and 5 Third 
Countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco. Bilateral international agreements 
with the EU were signed with Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco to participate in 
PRIMA. 
The  Programme  is  implemented  by  the  PRIMA-implementation  structure  (PRIMA-IS)8, 
established in Barcelona in 2017 as a dedicated entity, responsible for the direct management 
of the Union contribution under Article 185 of the TFEU, ensuring through its Secretariat and 
Governing Bodies, the smooth, efficient and transparent rollout of the PRIMA programme. 

PRIMA implementation is based on a long-term Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda 
(SRIA)9,  which  provides  the  vision  and  strategic  direction  for  the  implementation  of  the 
programme and is the basis for setting out the PRIMA Annual Work Plans (AWPs).  

With its overarching goal to contribute to the sustainability and stability of the region in the 
areas  of  food  and  water  sustainable  provision  and  management,  PRIMA  aims  to  achieve 
multiple  objectives.  These  range  from  thematic  goals  to  address  societal  needs  in  the 
Mediterranean  area  and  specific  objectives  that  address  advances  towards  an  integrated 
European and Mediterranean Research Area to science diplomacy goals for the collaboration 
with the EU’s southern neighbours. 

Over  the  last  few  years,  PRIMA  has  succeeded  in  establishing  a  trust-based  and  effective 
collaboration  between  Northern  and  Southern  Mediterranean  countries.  As  the  main  EU 
initiative  in  the  Mediterranean  to  deliver  on  these  key  research  and  innovation  challenges, 
PRIMA is  bridging the  research and innovation  and socio-economic divide in  the Southern 

5  Consolidated  version  of  the  Treaty  on  the  functioning  of  the  European  Union  ,  Title  XIX  Research  and  Technological 
Development and Space, Article 185 
6  Article  26(2),  point)  (b),  of  the Regulation  (EU)  No 1291/2013 of  the  European Parliament  and  of  the  of  11  December 
2013  establishing  Horizon  2020  -  the  Framework  Programme  for  Research  and  Innovation  (2014-2020)  and  repealing 
Decision No 1982/2006/EC (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 104) 
7 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32017D1324 
8 The PRIMA Dedicated Implementation Structure is a private body under Spanish law set up in Barcelona on 19 June 2017 
charged by the PRIMA Governing Body to undertake all managerial, administrative, supporting and, monitoring activities 
necessary to the implementation of the PRIMA Programme 
9  The  Ministers  of  Research  and  Innovation  endorsed  PRIMA  SRIA  during  the  Ministerial  Conference  on  Strengthening 
Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation through Research and Innovation in Malta on 4 of May 2017 and adopted by the PRIMA 
Foundation Board of Trustees (BoT) on 16 November 2017 

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and  Eastern  neighbourhood  and  enhancing  health,  peace  and  stability  for  the  region’s 
societies in the long term. 

PRIMA implements activities in the form of calls for proposals in three sections: 

  Section 1 calls are organised by PRIMA and funded exclusively by Horizon 2020.  
  Section 2 calls are also organised by PRIMA but funded by Participating States 
  Section 3 calls are organised and funded by Participating States 

PRIMA’s  total  budget  for  2017-2028  is  EUR 494  million,  with  EUR 220  million  coming 
from  Horizon  202010  (approx.  EUR 30  million/year  for  three  thematic  areas)  and  EUR 274 
million  from  national  resources  to  target  research  and  innovation  needs  and  align  research 
and innovation policies across its Participating States.  

3.  INTERIM EVALUATION FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS/OBSERVATIONS 

3.1 

Interim evaluation findings 

The interim evaluation confirms that the added value resulting from the PRIMA partnership 
compared  to  what  could  have  been  achieved  by  individual  Participating  States  acting 
independently at international, national and/or regional levels can be considered high and will 
be even higher for the future. 

The following key achievements have been highlighted by the independent experts: 

  PRIMA is currently running efficiently and there are no delays in the implementation 

of the annual work plans and its calls; 

  Between 2018-2021, four calls have been launched successfully and 168 projects have 

been selected for funding; 

  The total funding for PRIMA, including EU and national funding (excluding in-kind 
contributions), is EUR 353 million for the period 2018-2021. This represents already 
71% of the overall funding awarded to PRIMA; 

  A  wide  range  of  beneficiaries  has  been  involved  in  the  selected  proposals.  Most  of 
them  come  from  the  public  sector  of  the  participating  states.  Higher  education 
establishments represent the highest number of beneficiaries in PRIMA. This category 
includes  universities,  institutes,  laboratories  and  research  councils,  and  accounts  for 
41.3%  of  all  beneficiaries  for  the  period  2018-2021.  Other  research  organisations 
represent 28.8% of the beneficiaries. Private for-profit organisations account for a bit 
less than 20%, most of them (5 of 6) being Small and Medium Sized Enterprises; 

 

Italy and Spain are ranked first among the various beneficiaries, followed by Tunisia 
and  France.  Non-EU  Participating  States’  participants  represent  38%  of  all 
beneficiaries in Section 1 and Section 2 calls. Next to Tunisia, Morocco, Türkiye, and 
Algeria have the highest number of beneficiaries among the Southern Mediterranean 
Participating States (SM PS); 

  Concerning financial contribution, SM PS received around EUR 62 million or 28% of 
the  total  funds.  Of  these,  EUR 35.9  million  were  obtained  from  the  EU  financial 

10 The entire EUR 220 million was committed at EU budget level at the end of 2020. 

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contribution budget (Section 1). This presents a share of around 32 %, exceeding the 
target share of 25%, foreseen in the basic act of  PRIMA;  

  Since none of the projects was finished at the time of the evaluation, it was too early 
to  conclude  on  the  contributions  of  the  expected  results  of  these  projects  to  the 
societal  needs  of  the  Participating  States.  However,  data  collected  from  53  projects 
that  have  passed  their  mid-term  review  indicates  promising  progress  to  achieve 
operational objectives. 

The interim evaluation concludes in particular that: 

  PRIMA plays a unique role in the Mediterranean research and innovation ecosystem 

and serves objectives not covered by other initiatives; 

  PRIMA  has  helped  foster  scientific  integration  across  participating  states.  In  its 
absence, it would be unlikely they would have cooperated as closely without a clear 
funding incentive and strategic framework to facilitate cooperation; 

  PRIMA allows especially the Southern Mediterranean Participating States to leverage 
their research and innovation capacities. By engaging in PRIMA, researchers from the 
non-EU  Participating  States  gain  access  to  the  funding  opportunities  of  Section  1, 
which the EU finances; 

  PRIMA contributes to the further completion of the European Research Area (ERA), 
notably by overcoming the insufficient cross-border cooperation in the Mediterranean 
area  through  the  funding  of  cross-border  projects,  which  can  be  expected  to  yield 
larger impacts than uni- or bilateral efforts alone; 

  PRIMA  values  of  co-ownership,  mutual  interest,  shared  benefit  and  the  principle  of 
equal footing were considered particularly relevant to enable cooperation between the 
EU and its southern Mediterranean  neighbours as partners; 

  The  programme  can  be  considered  a  relevant  tool  of  science  diplomacy  that  helps 
bring closer the EU and its Mediterranean neighbours building a sense of mutual trust 
and inclusiveness; 

  PRIMA  strengthens 

the  cooperation  between 

the  Southern  Mediterranean 

Participating States notably in the area of research and innovation; 

  Regarding  the  future,  PRIMA  Implementing  Structure  has  taken  steps  to  coordinate 
with Horizon Europe initiatives of similar thematic focus, such as the EU Mission “A 
Soil  Deal  for  Europe”  or  new  partnerships  like  the  European  Partnership  ‘Water 
Security  for  the  Planet’  (Water4All).  Cooperation  with  EU  Mission  “Restore  our 
Ocean and Waters” is also foreseen in the PRIMA Annual Work Plan 2023 recently 
adopted by the Commission; 

  PRIMA  contributes  with  its  thematic  focus  to  various  European  Green  Deal  policy 
instruments and acts, such as the new EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change, 
the  Farm  to  Fork  Strategy  (the  role  in  the  area  of  research  and  innovation  and 
sustainable food), the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Zero pollution Action Plan, 
and the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). 

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3.2 

Recommendations and lessons learned 

The interim evaluation report supported by objective data and evidence assesses the current 
status and achievements of PRIMA, provides impulses to support PRIMA’s implementation 
and informs possible mid-term adjustments. The evaluation reveals that PRIMA is on its way 
to  achieve  its  objectives,  operates  according  to  applicable  principles  and  procedures  and 
achieved coherence with relevant internal and external policies of the EU. 

The Commission considers that over the last few years, PRIMA has succeeded in establishing 
a  trust-based  and  effective  collaboration  between  Northern  and  Southern  Mediterranean 
countries  to  develop  common  and  innovative,  sustainable,  cost-effective  and  efficient 
solutions  for  sustainable  food  systems  and  integrated  water  management.  As  the  main  EU 
initiative  in  the  Mediterranean  to  deliver  on  these  key  research  and  innovation  challenges, 
PRIMA is  bridging the  research and innovation and socio-economic divide in  the Southern 
and  Eastern  neighbourhood  and  enhancing  health,  peace  and  stability  for  the  region’s 
societies in the long term. 

Now more than ever it is the time for more collaboration to identify innovative solutions to 
safeguard water resources, increase food and nutrition security and strengthen the resilience, 
equity and sustainability of food and farming systems in the Mediterranean region. 

In fact, the future of the Mediterranean Basin’s key natural resources (water, soil, coastlines, 
and biodiversity) continues to be threatened by a number of pressures acting simultaneously 
and,  in  many  cases,  chronically,  including  urbanisation,  industrialisation,  the  expansion  of 
intensive agriculture activities and aquaculture and the unsustainable exploitation  of natural 
resources. The fragility of the region is further aggravated by its sensitivity to climate change. 
According to the 6th Assessment Report of the Working Group II of the Intergovernmental 
Panel  on  Climate  Change  of  the  United  Nations  (published  in  February  2022),  the 
Mediterranean  ecosystems  are  expected  to  be  among  the  most  impacted  ones  by  the 
consequences of the progressing climate change. 

The  Southern  Mediterranean  region  is  further  facing  governance,  socio-economic,  climate, 
environmental and security challenges, many of which result from global trends and call for 
joint action by the EU and Southern Neighbourhood partners. Protracted conflicts continue to 
inflict terrible human suffering, trigger significant forced displacement, weigh heavily on the 
economic  and  social  prospects  of  entire  societies,  especially  for  countries  hosting  large 
refugee populations, and intensify geopolitical competition and outside interference. 

In  addition,  the  effects  of  the  Covid-19  pandemic,  are  putting  natural  resources  and 
agriculture  under  enormous  pressure.  Therefore,  the  transformation  to  unpolluted  natural 
resources  and  healthy,  equitable,  resilient  and  sustainable  food  systems  needs  to  be  a 
continued priority for Mediterranean societies. 

Consequently, PRIMA objectives are still valid. 

Moreover,  the  President  Ursula  von  der  Leyen’s  “geopolitical  Commission”  recognises  the 
particular  role  of  the  Mediterranean  and  stresses  that  it  intends  to  collaborate  closely  with 
Mediterranean partners on the EU Green Deal so “we can make the region a leader in climate 
solutions.”  The  EU,  through  a  wide  range  of  projects  and  programmes,  including  PRIMA, 
supports  its  Southern  Neighbourhood  partners  in  developing  and  implementing  green 
policies.  It  promotes  cooperation  to  fight  pollution  and  climate  change,  offering  to  help  its 
Southern Neighbourhood partners implement the Paris Climate Agreement and its subsequent 
developments and works to share best practice and expertise. 

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To  strengthen  the  long-term  outcomes  of  PRIMA,  the  following  recommendations  are 
proposed: 

  Further streamline the implementation of the three PRIMA Sections. The evaluation 
revealed  that  PRIMA  partnership  constitutes  the  right  ecosystem  to  enable  tailored 
approaches  for  the  joint  issues  of  the  Mediterranean  region  in  terms  of  topics  and 
funding levels.  However,  PRIMA’s attractiveness  has led to a low success  rate11.  In 
fact,  the  success  rates  for  Section  1  are  below  5%.  Similarly,  the  success  rates  for 
Section 2 vary from 6.6% in 2018 to about 20% on 2021. This oversubscription could 
discourage  in  the  future  submission  of  high-level  proposals.  PRIMA  implementing 
structure should address this issue and propose ways to increase the success rates of 
proposals selected for funding. For instance, the possibility of more tailored calls and 
further  refinement  of  the  application  process  in  the  two  stages  of  the  calls  could  be 
assessed;  

  Section  3  seems  to  receive  a  different  degree  of  awareness  and  importance  from 
Participating  States.  Therefore,  there  is  a  need  to  increase  its  effectiveness.  PRIMA 
implementing  structure  should  devote  additional  efforts 
the 
Participating  States  about  the  importance  of  the  Participating  States  Initiated 
Activities,  to  unlock  the  full  contribution  potential  of  this  section  towards  a  more 
integrated  research  area.  PRIMA  may  benefit  from  facilitating  the  reporting 
requirements of the Participating States Initiated Activities as much as possible so that 
they  cater  better  to  the  limited  resources  of  National  Funding  Authorities.  Another 
option  for  increasing  the  strategic  relevance  of  the  Section  3  would  be  a  greater 
emphasis on exchange, networking and training;  

into  sensitising 

  Although stakeholders are satisfied overall with PRIMA’s implementation, additional 
efforts from PRIMA implementing structure and the Participating States are needed to 
further  increase  the  efficiency  notably  of  Section  2,  by  reducing  the  complexity 
caused  by  different  national  funding  schemes  and  work  towards  streamlining  of 
national  administrative procedures, to  reduce time to  grant,  strengthen the reliability 
and improve the speed; 

  To  fully  exploit  synergies  between  the  projects  and  to  foster  building  longer-lasting 
communities, PRIMA implementing structure should intensify its efforts to boost the 
their 
individual  projects  with  a  view  of 
exchange  between 
complementarities and their potential synergies.  Corresponding means could be, e.g. 
organising events for early-stage projects to learn from those further advanced, events 
for  exchange  between  projects  with  a  similar  thematic  focus,  or  networking  and 
brokerage events; 

identifying 

  Participating  States  and  PRIMA  implementing  structure  need  to  further  invest  in 
outreach  activities  and  capacity  building  to  enable  actors  from  the  Southern 
Mediterranean  Participating  States  to  engage  more  actively  in  PRIMA.  The  interim 
evaluation report valued that since the inception of PRIMA, there have been different 
activities  to  support  stakeholders  from  different  countries  which  has  led  to  some 
progress  in  their  research  and  innovation  systems.  However,  there  is  still  untapped 
potential  to  enable  even  more  active  participation  in  PRIMA.  This  relates  to  the 
overall  number  of  beneficiaries  from  Southern  Mediterranean  Participating  States, 
which  could  be  higher,  and  to  their  roles  in  the  projects.  Therefore,  additional 

11 A so called « success rate » is the ratio of the number of proposals funded vs a number of eligible proposals 

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outreach  and  capacity-building  activities  and  support  to  better  connect  with  the 
transnational community are needed to intensify their participation;  

  PRIMA  is  using  several  indicators  to  monitor  progress  and  efficiency  of  the 
implementation. However, a more systematic monitoring of the outcomes and impacts 
arising from the different actions is needed. The interim evaluation report highlighted 
that  there  have  been  significant  efforts  and  progress  towards  the  continuous 
improvement  of  the  PRIMA  Key  Performance  Indicators  (KPIs.  However,  current 
Key  Performance  Indicators  still  leave  room  for  improvement  regarding  their 
usefulness  in  judging  the  achievement  of  the  specific  objectives  and  the  impact  of 
projects.  This  concerns,  e.g.,  the  lack  of  Key  Performance  Indicators  to  effectively 
measure  research  and  innovation  strategy  alignment  beyond  the  procedural  level. 
Moreover,  it  has  to  be  ensured  that  the  impact  of  projects  will  be  monitored 
adequately, beyond the mid-term review or the end review of a project, i.e. some kind 
of regular monitoring or follow-up after  the end  of a  project. PRIMA implementing 
structure should then work on the adjustment of Key Performance Indicators; 

  PRIMA 

towards 
implementing  structure  has  already  devoted  strong  efforts 
dissemination  and  communication  activities  (e.g.  dedicated  section  in  PRIMA 
website, PRIMA magazine, various brokerage events, section on web, Water- Energy-
Food-Ecosystems  (WEFE)  Nexus  Conference.  PRIMA  Implementing  Structure  is 
also  aware  that  a  key  focus  of  future  outreach  activities  should  especially 
communicate project impacts as soon as these are available. However, there is a need 
to  ramp  up  communication  and  dissemination  to  sustain  the  high  political 
commitment to PRIMA in the long term. Moreover, there is a need for better internal 
communication within the project consortia;  

  Facilitating cooperation between the EU and its southern neighbours as equal partners 
is  one of the key  achievements of PRIMA. However, the evaluation  report revealed 
that  cooperation  between  Southern  Mediterranean  Participating  States  (southern-
southern  cooperation)  is  less  strong.  A  further  increase  in  cooperation  among  the 
Southern  Mediterranean  Participating  States  would  be  beneficial,  as  it  could 
contribute  to  an  improvement  in  the  relationships  between  those  countries.  Hence, 
PRIMA  Implementing  Structure  should  increase  efforts  to  bring  corresponding 
communities together, e.g. by specific events to broker consortia participation among 
Southern Mediterranean Participating States. Another possibility would be to consider 
adapting selection criteria to favour proposals (maybe for certain calls) where several 
participants from Southern Mediterranean Participating States are actively interacting 
with each other. 

  Today, PRIMA is exploring synergies with EU and Mediterranean initiatives, such as 
Horizon Europe Cluster 6, Missions and Partnerships.  PRIMA has also contributed to 
the creation of the WEFE Nexus Community of  Practice  and to  the  development  of 
the  Union  for  the  Mediterranean’s  (UfM)  Regional  Research  and  Innovation 
Platforms roadmaps on climate change, renewable energy and health, endorsed at the 
Ministerial Conference on research and innovation of the Union for the Mediterranean 
on 27 June 2022. Possible cooperation with the thematic territorial framework on blue 
economy (West Med) and the BlueMed Initiative could also contribute to pooling up 
resources  and  increasing  impacts.  PRIMA  implementing  structure  should  further 
follow  these  initiatives  and  propose  concrete  actions  for  the  implementation  of 
synergies.  

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4.  CONCLUSIONS 

The EU recognises the Mediterranean’s special role and the European Commission is already 
collaborating closely with Mediterranean partners helping them to find common solutions to 
the identified challenges and make the region a leader in climate-resilient solutions. 

PRIMA  plays  a  unique  role  in  the  Mediterranean  research  and  innovation  ecosystem  and 
serves objectives not covered by other initiatives. According to the Ministerial Declaration of 
the  recent  Mediterranean  Conference  on  Research  and  Innovation,  PRIMA’s  Strategic 
Research  and  Innovation  Agenda  and  its  monitoring  and  evaluation  system  enables  an 
effective joint research and innovation programme in crucial sectors for the Mediterranean. It 
contributes  to  scientific  progress  and  technical  solutions  for  the  water  and  agro-food  areas 
and their interconnected nexus.  

The evaluation faced certain limitations, as none of the projects funded by PRIMA has been 
finished yet. Therefore, the focus of the evaluation lies less on long-term impacts and more 
on  the  structure,  implementation  processes,  and  the  current  progress  of  the  Programme.  In 
particular,  it  is  evaluated  whether  there  has  been  significant  progress  regarding  the  specific 
objectives, as these are not fully dependent on the exploitation of the achieved results in the 
projects.  In  this  context,  it  can  be  concluded  that  PRIMA  has  been  successful.  The 
partnership  adequately  addresses  environmental,  socio-economic  and  policy  challenges  that 
are  crucial  to  the  future  development  of  a  more  circular  and  sustainable  Mediterranean 
region. On the other hand, PRIMA contributes to key EU political priorities, objectives and 
initiatives  such  as  the  European  Green  Deal,  in  particular  Farm  to  Fork  and  Biodiversity 
strategies,  Bioeconomy  Strategy,  Climate  Adaptation  Strategy  and  the  Circular  Economy 
Action  Plan,  as  well  as  the  overarching  SDGs.  At  the  same  time,  the  programme  greatly 
contributes  to  strengthening  the  relations  and  the  collaboration  between  the  EU  and  its 
southern neighbours. In some cases, it has also encouraged cooperation among the latter.  

PRIMA-Implementing Structure successfully established PRIMA as a platform to strengthen 
research, innovation, collaboration and is coherently embedded into the political landscape. 

In  contrast  to  other  Article  185  initiatives  under  Horizon  2020,  PRIMA  has  no  legal 
predecessor. While there have been partnerships between different national agencies in earlier 
ERA-Nets,  and  initiatives  towards  the  Mediterranean  area  existed,  the  incorporation  of 
PRIMA as a public-public partnership on the EU level was completely new. 

The recommendations will be taken up in discussions between the Commission and PRIMA 
implementing  structure  and  their  implementation  will  be  followed  up  as  part  of  the 
Commission's oversight of the PRIMA programme. 

In  line  with  these  recommendations,  the  Commission  will  also  seek  more  systematically  to 
acquire  and  analyse  relevant  data  to  improve  monitoring  of  the  impacts  arising  from  the 
PRIMA  programme  and  will  strengthen  the  communication  of  relevant  outcomes  towards 
relevant services within the Commission. 

While  PRIMA  activities  are  foreseen  until  31  December  2028,  its  last  calls  will  be 
programmed in 2024 under the Horizon 2020 framework. PRIMA Participating States have 
started  expressing  their  interest  for  the  continuation  of  PRIMA.  The  importance  to  discuss 
PRIMA’s continuation in line with the Horizon Europe– the current Framework Programme 
for  Research  and  Innovation  approach  to  Partnerships  has  also  been  acknowledged  in  the 
Ministerial Declaration of the Mediterranean Conference on Research and Innovation on 27 
June 2022.  

8 

 
 
The  representatives  of  Participating  EU  Member  States  during  the  debate  in  the 
Competitiveness (COMPET) Council of 2 December 2022, conveyed also their support to the 
continuation of PRIMA. The Commission acknowledged the objective of continuation of the 
PRIMA  initiative  and  has  initiated  an  internal  process  to  assess  the  options  for  a  possible 
renewal of the PRIMA programme after the end of its active term in 2024. This process will 
take  the  positive  results  of  this  interim  evaluation  of  PRIMA  into  account.  In  addition, 
PRIMA was funded out of H2020 (2014-2021), while its calls are scheduled for 2018-2024 
(i.e.  the  programmatic  period  falls  between  H2020  and  Horizon  Europe).The  need  of 
synchronising  PRIMA  with  the  funding  framework  timeline,  i.e.  with  Horizon  Europe, 
should be also considered in this process. 

9