The "Horizon 2020 Initiative" aims to de-pollute the Mediterranean by the year 2020 by tackling the sources of pollution that account for around 80% of the overall pollution of the Mediterranean Sea: municipal waste, urban waste water and industrial pollution.

During the 10th Anniversary Summit of the Barcelona Process in 2005, the Euro-Mediterranean Partners committed themselves to increasing efforts to substantially reduce the pollution of the Mediterranean by 2020 in what became known as the "Horizon 2020 Initiative" (H2020). Horizon 2020 was endorsed during the Environment Ministerial Conference held in Cairo in November 2006 and is now one of the key initiatives endorsed by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) at its launch in Paris in 2008. A 2007-2013 Road-Map was adopted by ministers in Cairo, which focuses on the:

• Identification of projects to reduce the most significant sources of pollution.
• Identification of capacity building measures to help neighbouring countries create national environmental administrations that are able to develop and police environmental laws.
• Use of the EU research budget to develop and share knowledge of environmental issues relevant to the Mediterranean.
• Develop indicators to monitor the success of Horizon 2020.

To implement and monitor actions three working groups were created to address:

• Investments for Pollution Reduction (PR);
• Capacity Building (CB) for achieving H2020 objectives;
• Review, Monitoring and Research (RMR).

Horizon 2020 builds on existing institutions, initiatives and results, filling gaps where it could bring added value. It operates within the framework of existing and developing policy instruments, and supports the implementation of the commitments undertaken in the framework of the Barcelona Convention: MAP's Strategic Action Programme (SAP) to address pollution from land-based activities (SAP MED); the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD), launched by the Mediterranean Commission for Sustainable Development (MCSD) established under the United Nations Environment Programme Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP).

In addition to using EU policy tools (such as TAIEX, Twinning, etc.) it cooperates and tries to coordinate and synergise with all other relevant programmes (e.g. UNEP/MAP GEF SP for the Med LME, etc.).

The Horizon 2020 Steering Group is responsible for the implementation of H2020. Its members participate on an equal footing and include: EU Institutions (EC, EIB, EEA), focal points of EU member states, focal points of ENP Mediterranean partner countries, other stakeholders such as IGOs, IFIs, NGOs, local authorities, private sector etc.

With the launch of the Union for the Mediterranean the geographic scope was expanded to include focal points from Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro. To date four Steering Group meetings have taken place (Marrakesh 2007, Tunis 2008, Dubrovnik 2009, Amman 2011).

The H2020 Steering Group authorised three temporary Technical Sub Groups on: Investments for Pollution Reduction (PR), Review, Monitoring and Research (RMR), Capacity Building (CB) for achieving H2020 objectives.

The European Commission is currently financing a project under each component, in addition to those from other sources. Under the Investment (PR) and RMR H2020 components are respectively the

Mediterranean Hot Spots Investment Programm- Project Preparation and Implementation Facility (MeHSIP-PPIF) and the European Neighbourhood Policy Instrument- Shared Environmental Information System (ENPI-SEIS). Under the Capacity Building component, the H2020 Capacity Building/Mediterranean Environment Programme (H2020 CB/MEP) aims at enhancing the capacities to address pollution problems at institutional and society level. In addition, through the H2020 CB/MEP, a Hot Spot Investment study for the West Balkans and Turkey (WeB&THSiS), as complementary to the MeHSIP – is being elaborated .