The WES project closing conference

Last October 8, 2024, took place in Athens the Closing Conference of the EU-funded “Water and Environment Support (WES) in the ENI Neighbourhood South Region” .
In this occasion were discusses the results and impact of the 5. 5-year project (2019-2024), with over 100 WES activities at regional and national levels providing technical assistance to 8 WES Partner Countries in North Africa and the Middle East. Trainings, workshops, consultations, and other interventions engaged 2,200 participants, focusing on addressing water scarcity, pollution, wastewater treatment, water accounting, and more. 

Institutional changes were promoted alongside technical achievements, encouraging stakeholders to champion reducing plastic pollution in the Mediterranean. The Conference gathered 60 stakeholders from 16 countries including government officials, EU representatives, and international institutions.

During the conference Mr. Petros Varelidis, Secretary General for Natural Environment and Waters, Ministry of the Environment and Energy, Greece, expressed the continuous collaboration of the government with the European Union on environmental and development issues and recognised the WES project as an exemplary case of a successful, balanced, useful EU project for the benefit for the non-EU Mediterranean countries of the South but with a positive impact to the entire region.

Ms. Dionysia Avgerinopoulou, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Environmental Protection of Greece and member Hellenic Parliament, declared that undoubtedly WES, a capacity building and institutional support project, has made a difference in the Mediterranean, as it has helped many stakeholders of the MENA region to exchange of experiences, enhance their managing skills to face great and challenging environmental issues.

Professor Michael Scoullos, WES Team Leader, underlined that the success of WES was achieved through the close cooperation with the WES Focal Points and key stakeholders, declared that “I am confident that the extension (2025-2028) as “WES-BCA” (Biodiversity and Climate Action), will allow the WES community to address in the Mediterranean the triple planetary crisis - climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution - in the most effective way.”