The Secretariat of the Adriatic Ionian Euroregion participated in the event “Paths That Last – Collaborating for a Sustainable Tourism in the Mediterranean”, held in Split on 25–26 June 2025. The event was a key initiative organised by the Mediterranean Multi-Programme Mechanism (MMM) — a collaboration platform bringing together seven Interreg programmes in the area (Interreg Euro-MED, Interreg Greece–Cyprus, Italy–Croatia, Italy–Slovenia, Italy–France Maritime, Italy–Malta, Italy–Tunisia, and NEXT MED).
The conference gathered over 300 participants, both on-site and online, for an inspiring exchange of ideas, practices, and forward-looking visions for joint work and synergies in the Mediterranean, at both programme and project levels.
The event successfully brought together Managing Authorities, national institutions, and stakeholders to start shaping a more strategic and coordinated approach to cooperation in the Mediterranean. It featured the launch of a peer-exchange mechanism and included several workshop sessions.
In this context, it was officially announced that the IPA South Adriatic Programme has joined the Mediterranean Multi-Programme Mechanism, increasing the number of participating Interreg programmes to nine.
Three key messages were emphasized during the event:
– Sustainable tourism in the Mediterranean is not just a vision, but a shared commitment and collective responsibility.
– There is an urgent need to strengthen cooperation, particularly in view of future regulatory changes and tighter budgets. To maintain Interreg’s relevance and impact, programmes must pursue greater efficiency, visibility, and strategic alignment.
– Synergies and capitalisation are no longer optional, they are essential. Looking ahead, flexibility will be key. Projects are central to this effort, and tools such as peer reviews and coordinated calls will support deeper, cross-programme collaboration.
As a next step, the MMM programmes are expected to launch coordinated calls for proposals focused on capitalisation, aiming to expand the impact of existing projects across other Mediterranean territories.
The recordings of the plenary sessions are available on YouTube.
