Projects change people’s lives!

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Whatever you throw into the sea will come back to you

Environment
Mediterranean Sea Basin

More than 62 million of debris are estimated to be floating in the Mediterranean Sea – one of the six areas most affected by marine litter in the world. Plastic accounts for a large part of all manmade debris. Marine litter not only endangers numerous aquatic organisms – it threatens to finish up on our plates through the food chain. An EU-funded project COMMON is taking actions in the five pilot areas of the Mediterranean – in Italy, Tunisia and Lebanon – to combat the common challenge.

TEC-MED: No elderly alone

People-to-People
Mediterranean Sea Basin

In the Mediterranean, elderly people have been particularly hit by COVID-19. The media attention has been much riveted to them but mostly as a risk group on a medical level. Isolated and lonely more than ever due to social distancing and confinement, in this unprecedented period they eminently need adequate care, both social and psychological. Emotional support, social involvement, scientific research: tackling the pandemic, an EU-funded project TEC-MED develops solutions to find some relief for older people.

#COVID19: a shelter for women victims of violence

People-to-People
Mediterranean Sea Basin

A safe-haven for women victims of violence: an emergency shelter where they (and their children) can immediately be hosted, even during the pandemic, to get away from homes where it is too dangerous for them to remain. It is happening in Tunisia, in the framework of the MedTOWN project financed by the EU within the ENI CBC MED programme. It is an example of a concrete response to the crisis unleashed across all borders by the COVID19 on the particularly fragile segment of abused women, and how a project was able to readjust its intervention to meet a new need arisen in the context of the pandemic.

The strength to heal wounds: empowerment

People-to-People
Estonia-Russia

A small team of five experts has found the recipe to support vulnerable families in coping with life challenges: learn something, develop a project, put it in practice within the family, share with the community. In a word, create your own way to heal your own wounds, from beginning to end. This is empowerment.

A database to match producers and users

Economic Development
Mediterranean Sea Basin

Do you produce fabrics for health use? Are you looking for masks, protective gloves, medical aprons? As the COVID-19 pandemic is still ravaging, there is a relentless worldwide demand of supplies: if you are a textile or a manufacturing company, here is a database that could help you out to find the right destination for your products. A “who-is-doing-what” catalogue has been created to put in touch those who offer the production of an item or a service, with those who are looking for it.

From your kitchen to your garden: a second life to organic waste

Environment
Mediterranean Sea Basin

Organic waste from your kitchen coming back to your garden as compost? The idea is not new but very impactful for dozens of communities around the Mediterranean where selective sorting and collection of organic waste were introduced thanks to SCOW project financed by the ENPI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme. Watch in our video how a better local waste management has changed things in Galilee region (Israel).

From unique (Sicilian) sheep breed to certified (Tunisian) cheese: tradition and technologies linking the shores

Economic Development
Italy-Tunisia

A unique breed of sheep was brought by Sicilians to the North of Tunisia in the 18th century. Two centuries after, it united the researchers, local farmers and dairy producers from both shores of the Mediterranean in the Hilftrad project under the ENPI CBC Programme Italy-Tunisia. They have come together to optimize this type of sheep farming and to give added value to the milk and cheese produced as a result. Watch in our videos how export to Tunisia of the Sicilian experience in cheese certification, and promotion of traditional Sicilian cheeses among tourists and consumers, made important contributions to the local economies.

Struggling together against the pandemic

Poland-Belarus-Ukraine

Viruses know no borders, and so does the health struggle: thanks to an EU supported project, emergency medical services are already functioning in the cross-border areas linking Poland, Belarus and Ukraine. Ambulances and respirators are available in the hospitals to help doctors fight against the COVID-19 pandemic: the equipment delivered through the RESCUE project is serving its purpose to help border communities to face emergencies across the European frontier.

What about bat viewing to feel history?

Economic Development
Cultural heritage

What about going “bat viewing” at night? Sitting quietly in Luznava manor, experiencing the speed, the flying skills, the whizzing of the wings enhanced by the silence, and the waves produced by these very special nightly creatures…

ENI CBC young volunteers crossing all borders

People-to-People
IVY

“There is a need to show European citizens how many benefits the European projects have to offer and that they truly change lives” (Natalia Popielska, a young Interreg volunteer from Poland). Hundreds of young people like Natalia are leaving on this mission around Europe thanks to Interreg Volunteer Youth (IVY) initiative. IVY initiative offers young people a unique opportunity to participate as volunteers in EU funded cross-border, transnational or interregional programmes and projects, and to promote their concrete achievements through personal experience.

Better sea connections between Finland and Russia

Infrastructure
South East Finland-Russia

From the Finnish port of HaminaKotka to St. Petersburg in Russia or vice versa for a weekend? And take your car with you too! The year-round ferry boat connection between the two ports will be developed thanks to two large infrastructure projects financed under the South-East Finland – Russia CBC Programme.

Because neighbours matter

ENI CBC because neighbours matter

Sharing the same planet is like sharing the same building: roof, foundations, façade are a common concern to all neighbours. People across external European borders are all neighbours to each other: they share the same building – the planet. And as good neighbours do, they grow up together, they give each other a hand to build a better life, they keep doors open to welcome friends. Have a look at this short video, presenting the ENI CBC community as it enters the new year and all its challenges.

From grape waste to anti-aging creams

Economic Development
Mediterranean Sea Basin

What to do with grape waste? Can wine-litter become a resource, and eventually be turned into cosmetics? An EU-funded project is working to make it happen, with the final goal to create work opportunities in countries stricken by economic crises. It is called BESTMEDGRAPE, and it’s a project implemented by Italy, Tunisia, France, Lebanon and Jordan, under the Mediterranean Sea Basin ENI CBC Programme.

We watched a common sky above us despite a border on earth

People-to-People
Road Trip Project DG Regio

They come from all over Europe: Poland, Germany, Cyprus and the Netherlands. They are 19, 22, 23, and 26 years old and grew up with Schengen. Olga writes, Sellina sticks her eye to the camera, Panos presents, Wijnand makes films. In September, these four “Euro trippers” found themselves around a great adventure. On board of a van, they travelled for a month through 17 EU countries and dozens of regions, meeting the locals and living like them. They went out to see what different regions have to offer: from dancing in an electric festival in Ireland to biking through Leipzig to getting lost in a rock labyrinth in Poland. In Romania, the four youngsters went to Maramures, near the Ukrainian border, to visit two ENPI CBC projects. We met the team during the EURegions Week in Brussels. What did they learn from this experience? How did they feel living together and jumping from one country to the other?

Imatra crossing point: the multiplying effect of investments

Infrastructure
South East Finland-Russia

New life for the Imatra border crossing: waiting time has been cut from two hours to half an hour, traffic accidents have decreased, and the amount of people detected for illegal activities has practically doubled.

These are just some of the results obtained thanks to an EU funded cross-border cooperation programme between Finland and Russia, implemented at the Imatra Svetogorsk crossing point.

When fishing gets hooked up by sustainable tourism

Economic Development
Italy-Tunisia

How can u improve your fishing techniques and protect your family’s income if you are a traditional fisherman? And how can you link your work to the growing opportunities offered by an upward sector like tourism? These were the challenges faced by the ENPI cross-border project “Club Bleu Artisanal” implemented by Sicily (Italy) and Tunisia.

NOT FOR SALE: together against human trafficking

People-to-People
Romania-Republic of Moldova

Human trafficking is the third biggest international crime industry of the planet. It involves mostly girls from poor, vulnerable environments, young people without any perspective, kidnapped and shuffled on the market. The EU external border regions are particularly challenged by this phenomenon, and the ENPI CBC “Nor for sale” project – implemented across Romania and the Republic of Moldova – has been tackling the issue.

A chance to forgive and to make up: youth mediation

People-to-People
Karelia

Who hasn’t made a mistake in their life? Growing up is a journey often marked with tough decisions on education, hobbies, friends, social environment etc. It is easy to make a few wrong choices and get into some disputes along the way. Left unresolved, these choices and disputes can get out of control and have much harder consequences for the young people involved. What can be done to limit this potential damage?

Better together: facing adversity in life