On December 1st and 2nd, the partners of the OPTIMED project have met for a two-day meeting in order to discuss the progress of the project. The meeting has been organized by one of the project partners, the Association of the Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASCAME) in the emblematic Casa Llotja de Mar.

On December 2nd the administrative and financial issues related to the project were discussed as well as the planning of the first interim report. Following the meeting of the management group, the 2nd meeting of the Steering Committee took place, during which the main lines of action and delays related to the project were discussed and approved.

Finally, the meeting ended over with a discussion between the partners and Mr S. D’Alfonso, Senior Project Manager of the Transport and Urban Development Department of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) to analyze how to integrate the Optimed project with the initiatives of the UfM.

At the occasion of her visit in Barcelona, the General Director of Transport of the Sardinia Region, Ms Gabriella Massidda along with the Technical Coordinator of the project, Mr Paolo Fadda and the director of the 2E3S, Mr Eduard Rodés, have met, on December 2nd, the General Director of Transport and Mobility of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Mr Pere Padrosa in order to share views and ideas about the Transport sector in both regions and to present the OPTIMED project.

With a total budget of €1,999,403.13, OPTIMED is a project funded under ENPI CBC MED, the financial instrument supporting the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) in the Mediterranean basin. It aims at promoting new opportunities, facilities, tools and skills in order to improve the commercial connections and relationships between public and private operators in maritime transport and logistics sector from Southern – Eastern to Northern – Western ports of the Mediterranean Sea.

The project will identify and spread the opportunities of the new maritime trade network and the potentialities of a supporting tool like the virtual logistics platform among economic operators from EU and Mediterranean Partner Countries.