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UfM | Grant Scheme for employment promotion – Regional response to the COVID-19 pandemic | 29 October 2020

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This call was first published on the UfM Secretariat’s website.

 

The UfM Secretariat has launched the UfM Grant Scheme for Employment Promotion in view of the COVID-19-induced economic crisis. The Grant Scheme has been set in order to support not-for-profit organizations with projects aiming at promoting employment in the UfM Region.

The economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are enormous and have led to unprecedented economic shocks that are directly felt by households worldwide. According to the ILO, ca. 94 % of the worldwide labour force lives and works in countries that are affected by company closures. The economic crisis will account for a loss of working hours equivalent to 305 million full-time employees.

In the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic threaten to undo years of economic development.

With the Mediterranean citizens at risk of losing their employment and livelihood,they are forced to adapt to a new world of work and economic activity.People already more vulnerable to economic shocks and restricted mobility, such as informal workers, blue-collar workers, youth and women, are specially affected.

At the same time, the crisis can also be the starting point to develop new ways of working as well as new forms of training and education.

Further information can be found at: https://ufmsecretariat.org/grant-scheme-2020/

DG REGIO |  Call for expression of interest for Covid-19 Response and Recovery Partnerships: Pilot Action for Interregional Innovation | 7 September 2020

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This call was first published on DG REGIO’s website on the 27 July 2020.

 

Objective of the call

Under this Call, DG REGIO seeks expressions of interest from transnational partnerships of regional authorities, including ecosystems of regional stakeholders (universities, research centres, clusters, SMEs, etc.) willing to pilot interregional innovation partnerships. The objective is to incentivise business investment projects accelerating commercialisation and scale-up of inter-regional innovation.

Based on current Commission priorities, four new areas are proposed for cooperation in the framework of the interregional innovation partnerships (one partnership per topic):

  • COVID-19: mobilising regional capacities to accelerate innovation and rapid deployment of new technologies and solutions to address the COVID-19 pandemic; development of the medical value chain (e.g. medical products, devices to tackle COVID-19).
  • Circular Economy in Health: circular business models for medical products and services (e.g. remanufacturing and refurbishing of medical devices and equipment, circular economy in the context of health safety, management of medical waste).
  • Sustainable and Digital Tourism: innovative solutions for the recovery and the development of tourism (including climate neutral and cultural tourism) through new technologies, service concepts and business models. Partnerships covering both the private sector (including start-ups), the public sector and public-private partnerships (e.g. responsible, innovative and smart tourism across different value chains, applying circular business models and resource efficiency, use and management of natural resources, use of public spaces, services and infrastructures, uptake of new technologies, data collection, management and sharing).
  • Hydrogen technologies in carbon-intensive regions: innovative solutions based on hydrogen technology, which (a) respond to the specific challenges of carbon-intensive regions; and/or (b) capitalise on the specific strengths of carbon-intensive regions in the creation of a European value chain for FCH (e.g. through the conversion of existing coal mines, smelters or production facilities, particularly as regards raw materials).

Who can apply under this call?

An Expression of Interest can be submitted by a partnership made up of statutory regional authorities and their regional innovation ecosystems. Partnerships should be composed of regional authorities from at least four different EU countries and represent to the extent possible the whole value chain involving representatives of the “quadruple helix”: research, business, public administration and end-users from different countries.

Deadline for submission of expression of interest:
7 September 2020

How to apply?

The expression of interest should be submitted electronically to the following email address: REGIO-SMART-GROWTH@ec.europa.eu

Call for expression of interest PDF

Privacy PDF

Frequently asked questions PDF

FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AND BLACK SEA: A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACTS OF THE COVID-19 CRISIS

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Throughout the world, the fisheries and aquaculture sectors are facing the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. With a view to sharing information among its countries and facilitating a reflection on future responses, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) has conducted a preliminary analysis of the impacts of this crisis on the fisheries and aquaculture sectors in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea region.

The analysis was carried out from the beginning of the crisis, on the basis of available information. The main sources used included responses to a questionnaire circulated by the GFCM to its countries, direct consultations with relevant partners, media articles and digital posts published from 1 March 2020.

It clearly emerges from this analysis that the COVID-19 crisis has had an effect on fisheries and aquaculture production as well as on markets for fisheries and aquaculture products. The extent of the impacts and the measures taken have varied from country to country and are constantly evolving.

The main findings are outlined here.