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1.1 The Med prograMMe
MED programme is a transnational programme of European territorial coopera-
tion. It is financed by the European Union as an instrument of its regional policy
in the 2007-2013 programming period. It continues the tradition of the previous
INTERREG IIIB transnational cooperation programme. MED implements the Lis-
bon strategy, pursuing the following general objectives:
»
to improve the area’s competitiveness in a way that guarantees growth and
employment for the next generations;
»
to promote territorial cohesion and environmental protection, according to
the logic of sustainable development.
The MED programme is based on four priority axes:
1. Strengthening innovation capacity;
2. Environmental protection and promotion of a sustainable territorial devel-
opment;
3. Improvement of mobility and territorial accessibility;
4. Promotion of a polycentric and integrated development of the MED space.
The Enerscapes project addressed the MED Priority Axis 2: “Protection of the
environment and promotion of a sustainable territorial development” and the
specific Objective 2.1: “Protection and enhancement of natural resources and
heritage”.
As stressed in the MED Operational programme, the MED area in its entirety
needs to increase the promotion of sustainable development because it is faced
with environmental threats which are higher than in most other European re-
gions. The orientation of the second axis confirms that in the environmental field
it is fundamental to coordinate initiatives on the transnational scale, and this is
