On 13 June 2017, the European Parliament approved the creation of the PRIMA-Partnership on Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area, a new initiative in research and innovation in the Mediterranean area that arises to develop the necessary solutions for a more sustainable management of water systems, agriculture and the agri-food chain. Through cooperative R&D projects, PRIMA aims to develop research and innovation capabilities and develop common innovative knowledge and solutions for agri-food and water supply systems in the Mediterranean area to make them sustainable, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 agenda (SDGs).

To date, the PRIMA Programme has 20 countries committed to the initiative:

• Algeria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey.

On the initiative website: http://prima-med.org/ the Annual Work Plan 2025 (AWP 2025) has already been published, as well as the reference documents for the preparation of proposals.

The call process consists of a stage and a centralized evaluation by the PRIMA Foundation. The total estimated budget for Section 1 is €32.5M (from the EU) and for Section 2 is €36.1 M (from the countries).

The 2025 calls require consortia of at least 4 partners (independent legal entities) that will meet the following requirements:

• Be based in at least 3 countries.
• Two (2) of them must be in MPC (Mediterranean Partner Country): Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey. The two can be in the same MPC or in different.
• At least one member country of the European Union (and of PRIMA): Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain.

Again in 2025 the CDTI, E.P.E. shall have an active role in Sections 1, 2 and 3 of the AWP:

SECTION 1

Section 1 includes three calls in 2025, each with a research line (topic) associated with a PRIMA thematic area. They are all innovation actions (IAs). The actions of section 1 follow the rules of participation of Horizon Europe. The calls will be organized, managed and financed by the PRIMA Foundation. The evaluation process will be in a single stage according to the calendar:

Timetable for Section 1 Calls:

• Date of publication and opening: April 7, 2025.
• Deadline for submission: July 15, 2025.
• Available evaluation results: December 10, 2025.

National point of contact in the CDTI of Section 1:

The Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI) provides advice on the preparation of proposals through the NCP-PRIMA for Section 1.

Marta Conde Vidal
Directorate for European Programmes, Space and Technological Returns - H2020
marta.conde@cdti.es
(+34) 91 581 55 62

SECTION 2

Activities (Research and Innovation Activities (RIA) based on national standards) selected from transnational open and competitive calls for proposals, organized by the PRIMA Foundation and financed by the national funding agencies of the participating countries. In Spain, two financing agencies participate in this section: the State Research Agency will finance the Research Agencies and the CDTI will be able to finance the business entities with the conditions of the R&D Projects of International Technological Cooperation.

Companies wishing to obtain financing from the CDTI for their PRIMA project must also submit their application through the CDTI’s electronic headquarters, in addition to sending it to the PRIMA Foundation.

In section 2 there is a single call covering three thematic areas with 3 topics or lines of research and the provisional application procedure will also be in two stages:

Calendar:

• Opening of the PRIMA call for proposals: April 7, 2025.
• Deadline for submission of PRIMA proposals: July 8, 2025.
• Deadline for submission of applications at the CDTI*:
  • For international application^*: 18-07-2025.
  • for the national application to the CDTI: 1-10-2025.
• Available evaluation results: December 10, 2025.
   

*IMPORTANT: Those Spanish companies that participate in Section 2 of PRIMA must submit, in addition to their international application on the PRIMA website, an application for an International Technological Cooperation Project at the CDTI Electronic Headquarters (called PRI) so that the CDTI can determine their eligibility to receive funding. In addition to this request, it will be necessary to attach the documentation presented to the PRIMA Secretariat in the international application. In order to comply with the PRIMA eligibility schedule, this application, at the CDTI Electronic Headquarters, together with the required documentation, must be submitted before July 18, 2025.

National point of contact in the CDTI of Section 2:

José Manuel Durán
Departamento de Acción Tecnológica Exterior
josemanuel.duran@cdti.es
(+212) 666 172 151

Francisco Sánchez
Departamento de Acción Tecnológica Exterior
francisco.sanchez@cdti.es
(+34)91 581 56 07

National point of contact at the State Research Agency (AEI) of Section 2:

Severino Falcón
prima@aei.gob.es
(+34) 91 603 87 28

SECTION 3

During the year 2025, the CDTI contributed to the PRIMA programme’s Participating States Initiated Activities by funding 101 R&D projects in technologies aligned with the thematic areas of the PRIMA initiative, for a disbursed amount of €13,347,394.43. The aforementioned activities are reflected in the Annual Work Plan 2025 of the PRIMA Foundation under the heading ES-2025-2.
 

Note: If there is any discrepancy in the content reflected in this web and what is reflected in the web of the PRIMA Program, the information contained in the latter will prevail.