L. whereas the Mediterranean is a coherent whole, constituting a single cultural and environmental area, and sharing very many characteristics and priorities common to the ‘Mediterranean climate’: the same crops, abundant renewable energy sources, particularly solar energy, the importance of tourism, the same natural disaster risks (fires, floods, earthquakes, water shortages) and the risks from human activity, particularly maritime pollution;

L. whereas the Mediterranean is a coherent whole, constituting a single cultural and environmental area, and sharing very many characteristics and priorities common to the ‘Mediterranean climate’: the same crops, abundant renewable energy sources, particularly solar energy, the importance of tourism, the same natural disaster risks (fires, floods, earthquakes, water shortages) and the risks from human activity, particularly maritime pollution;

50. Urges the EU, in a context of regional water scarcity, to step up its assistance in the field of water management within the ambit of the EU Environment and Water Initiative and to explore, as a way to address energy scarcity in upstream states, further options for solar and wind energy, which could help rural communities on a small scale; considers it regrettable that, to date, the EU Water Governance Project has largely focused on water quality, which is important but less relevant to the situation in Central Asia than issues of sharing and allocation of water resource ...[+++]s;

As regards the regulations on natural radiation, it has to be said that the Commission missed the mark by a long way, for the original proposal for a directive required employers to commission comprehensive assessments of the risks associated with sunlight and bureaucratic action plans to deal with them, which would have involved employers having to provide t-shirts and suncream for workers working outdoors.

17. Expresses its concern about the excessively narrow concept of providing risk capital and global loans mainly to SMEs engaging in life sciences, biotechnology, ITC and multimedia; calls on the Commission, the Council and the EIB to open up the facilities of the Growth and Employment Initiative also to sustainable high-tech sectors, e.g. fuel cell technologies, photovoltaics, solar heating, solar-hydrogen technology, bionics, combined heat and electricity generation, etc.;

However, the markets for solar energy equipment tend to be international, and the joint venture will face several powerful competitors with a high innovative potential.