The Interreg VI-A Italia-Malta 2021 – 2027 Programme aims to boost Italy and Malta’s green and blue economies which, when compared to other EU countries, underperform.

This cross-border programme covers the whole archipelago of Malta, which is characterised by plains and rocky coasts, and the region of Sicily, which is rich in hilly terrain. Due to its geographical location, the cooperation area is home to a significant natural and environmental heritage.

The area covered by the programme is strongly influenced by its insular nature, which contributes to accentuating its peripheral position with respect to the centre of gravity of the European Union, to which is added the double insularity that characterises the smaller islands.

Building on the experience of the previous programming period, the Interreg VI-A Italia-Malta 2021 – 2027 Programme focuses on a limited number of objectives where cross-border cooperation can make a difference and ensure sustainable growth and development – these include the environment, risk management, sustainable tourism, innovation and competitiveness.

Priority 1: A smarter area of cooperation to promote research and innovation and the development of skills for smart specialisation

The first specific objective is for developing and enhancing research and innovation capacities and the update of advanced technologies in the cross-border area. Project examples include creating support networks between companies and specialised competence centres for the creation and testing of technological solutions in sectors or production chains in which a need for joint innovation emerges and/or for the experimentation of research interventions aimed at reducing climate-changing emissions. The evolution of the most promising research projects, based on TRLs, into marketable products is also supported.

The action supports SMEs through assistance interventions in the field of knowledge transfer in order to promote the dissemination of innovative solutions and services for a better satisfaction of the economic, social and environmental needs of the area. Support interventions for SMEs are envisaged through the acquisition of specialised assistance and "quick impact" services (also in the form of vouchers) for the introduction of innovations and eco-innovations based on a technological approach but also to promote non-tech business innovations.

The main target groups for the first specific objective are local, regional, national authorities and other public institutions and agencies; universities and research centres; enterprises, including MSMEs; and business support organisations.

The second specific objective is to develop skills for smart specialisation, industrial transition and entrepreneurship in the cross-border area. For this objective, projects could include interventions aimed at creating skills for the new generations of entrepreneurs, managers, researchers, technicians and operators in the sectors of mutual interest such as green and blue economy, circular economy, health and quality of life etc but also cultural and creative industry, social enterprises etc through cooperation with international and Mediterranean networks of knowledge, skills and abilities.

The target groups identified for the second specific objective include public and private stakeholders who will be involved or positively influenced by innovation actions and processes driven by smart specialisation strategies.

Priority 2: A resilient cooperation area, which strengthens the protection and preservation of nature also through the efficient use of resource

The first specific objective within this priority is promoting climate change adaptation, disaster risk prevention and resilience in the cross-border area. Actions can include interventions aimed at the implementation of databases, the development of forecasting models in the climatic, meteorological, geomorphological, hydrological, seismic fields, the implementation of territorial analysis for risk studies and mitigation models are supported.

Interventions are planned aimed at defining local plans for adaptation to the consequences of climate change, including water scarcity and droughts, and emergency management (e.g. mapping of common climate profiles, joint plans based on similar climate and environmental issues, etc.) as well as actions to raise awareness of anthropogenic risks and deriving from climate change as well as capacity building actions for institutional and economic actors in the cross-border area.

Other interventions can include strengthening the knowledge system and the meteorological, geomorphological, hydrological, seismic, volcanic and environmental monitoring system

strengthening of coastal management capacity and the prevention of related risks also through the use of technological systems installed cross-border, prototyping of efficient solutions for the management of water resources in a climate change scenario;

strengthening and interoperability of environmental and safety monitoring systems between the two islands.

In addition, capitalising on the results of previous programming, interventions will be supported for the development of joint models, tools and infrastructures for the monitoring, forecasting and management of risks (coastal erosion, fires, floods, navigation risks.

The target groups identified include public and private entities that will be involved or positively influenced by the actions and that could benefit from better environmental and risk management.

The second specific objective is promoting the transition to a circular economy in the cross-border area. Interventions can include multi-level promotion and awareness-raising interventions are planned in the cross-border target sectors as well as other types concerning the promotion of new production and consumption models based on a circular approach that can also give rise to new business opportunities as well as the exchange of experiences and pilot actions for the adoption at the level of local regulations and / or other regulatory measures aimed at implementing the circular economy also through forms of incentive.

The programme could also carry out pilot interventions for the development of innovative systems for the management, recovery and reuse of organic and non-organic solid waste and their subsequent reintegration into the production cycle in economic chains of common interest (ecodesign).

The target groups identified include public and private entities that will be involved or positively influenced by the actions and that could benefit from a better management of the consumption chain.

The third specific objective is for enhancing the protection and preservation of nature, biodiversity, green infrastructure and reducing pollution in the cross-border area. Interventions can include promoting the use of technologies aimed at minimising the risks to which the marine and coastal ecosystems of the cross-border area are exposed, and which make them vulnerable are supported.

In particular, solutions that allow the mapping of degraded ecosystems and target habitats and species threatened by the presence of IAS are encouraged; tools to monitor the distribution of microplastics (marine litter); pilot solutions for the reduction of pollutants in port areas (CO2, pollutants, noise, etc.).

The interventions also include the construction of green and blue infrastructure for the protection of marine and coastal ecosystems to counteract the effects of climate change and extreme events and to improve the quality of life in the cross-border area.

Other interventions can be aimed at preserving biodiversity and marine and terrestrial areas of naturalistic value. In particular, actions to combat the introduction, naturalisation and spread of invasive alien species that cause damage to biodiversity in Sicily and Malta are encouraged; actions for the conservation of existing living resources; actions to protect threatened or endangered species; pilot actions for the restoration of existing ecosystems.

Actions can also include interventions for the environmental and economic enhancement of the existing natural marine and coastal cross-border heritage are supported also through the realization of small interventions that improve its use, not to increase the tourist flow within the identified areas, but to improve the conditions of access and preserve their integrity.

Main target groups include local, regional, national authorities and other public institutions and agencies; universities and research centres; managing bodies of sites, reserves, parks, protected areas; enterprises, including MSMEs; business support organisations; civil society organisations; and associations active in the environmental sectors.

Priority 3: An area of efficient cooperation in social capital through the role of culture and sustainable tourism in economic development

The first specific objective under this priority is enhancing the role of culture and sustainable tourism in the cross-border area in economic development, social inclusion and social innovation. Actions should aim at increasing the level of attractiveness of the tourism and cultural system through the modernisation of tangible and intangible infrastructures of the historical, cultural and environmental heritage, the improvement of the digital capacity of use and physical and cognitive accessibility, support for the green transition shall be supported.

Action is also envisaged to develop an inclusive cultural heritage and a sector of the creative industry, with inclusive spaces, technologies, learning and job opportunities that increase the cultural participation of citizens, which is generally limited in both countries but that can be usefully amplified by borrowing the principles of the new European Bauhaus through multidisciplinary and high-value actions that bring sustainability, aesthetics and inclusiveness to the local population.

Furthermore, actions aimed at diversification, requalification, development of new sustainable and responsible tourism products oriented to new market niches (ecotourism, cultural tourism, food and wine, well-being), also through the involvement of the population (community-based tourism) will be supported.

The target groups identified for this priority include public and private entities that will be involved or positively influenced by the actions and efforts of the programme to improve the use of natural and cultural heritage.

Priority 4: An area of cooperation with better governance between Italy and Malta

The first specific objective under this priority is enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of cooperation in the cross-border area. Project examples include exchanges of experience and initiatives to increase the capacity of public authorities to prepare integrated cross-border initiatives/strategies, to identify and respond to crises and emergencies and to ensure synergy with mainstream initiatives.

Actions dedicated to the development of forms of inter-institutional cooperation between ETC programmes and mainstream programmes are also supported in order to maximise the effectiveness of interventions with a view to complementarity.

Initiatives to capitalise on the results achieved and to develop joint monitoring systems for the detection of progress in the cross-border area with regard to the challenges of the ecological transition (e.g. in terms of circular economy), mitigation of the effects of climate change and prevention of disaster risks are supported.

Target groups can be both individuals and organisations that may be involved or influenced in various ways by the actions and which, therefore, will be able to implement specific cross-border actions thanks to the elimination of obstacles that prevented their full effectiveness. Target groups include both public and private actors covering a wide range of different sectors and levels of governance, such as policy makers, public administrations, education and training organisations, organisations and associations and businesses, including MPMIs. Target groups also include all population groups that will benefit from the improved efficiency of institutions and actors, local, regional, cross-border, and international.

The total final budget for the Interreg Italia-Malta programme is €57,604,031, including an EU contribution of €46,083,225. The co-financing rate is 80 per cent.