In line with the UfM Ministerial Declaration of May 2014 and the agreed work plan for the second phase of the Horizon 2020 Initiative for a Cleaner Mediterranean (2015-2020), the mandate of the H2020 Sub Group for Review and Monitoring (RM) has been revised with the overall objective to monitor progress of the implementation of the Horizon 2020 initiative, particularly through appropriate information sharing systems easily accessible to all Mediterranean partners, in cooperation with relevant partner organisations. The H2020 RM Sub Group is co-chaired by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the United Nations Environment Programme/Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP) Secretariat.
The main tasks of the H2020 Review and Monitoring Group are:
- To develop and adopt the RM group annual work programme;
- To monitor the implementation of the work programme, including any support projects/activities, and carry out relevant RM work programme actions;
- To develop, as required, a coherent indicator-based reporting process for Horizon 2020;
- To coordinate with the activities of the European Environment Agency (EEA), Eurostat, UNEP/MAP and other relevant institutions or bodies towards improving knowledge regarding the Mediterranean environment and convergence in the preparation of the ‘State of the Mediterranean Environment report’;
- To align the RM activities to the outcome of the research component and identified needs;
- To help converge funding opportunities to support RM work and knowledge creation in the region;
- To report to the H2020 Steering Group annual meetings.
Meetings of the RM group are convened on a yearly basis. Among the invited participants, along with the EEA and UNEP/MAP, are the UfM Secretariat, representatives of UfM countries, the League of Arab States, representatives of NGOs and civil society organisations, the European Commission partners, academia and other sub-group partners.
Each country designates a representative who acts as Focal Point for RM. The 6th meeting of the H2020 RM Group held in June 2015 recommended countries to appoint 2 RM focal points per country: the MEDPOL Focal Point or it’s representative together with the person in charge of the national ‘State of the Environment’ reporting process.
The RM Focal Points shall:
- Promote and monitor the implementation of the work programme of the RM component at national level;
- Provide appropriate input to the RM Group discussions, including reporting national challenges, needs or best practices, and make proposals for activities, where relevant;
- Contribute to the development and adoption of the RM Group annual work programme;
- Liaise with and communicate relevant information to the H2020 National Focal Point and where relevant the national focal points for the others components.
