Spain Leads First Water Sector Initiative

Spain, February 22, 2013 -- The aim of the Joint Programming Initiative “Water challenges for a changing world” (JPI Water), is to boost strategic cooperation in water research and innovation in Europe. Some 18 member states are participating in the initiative, which was approved in December 2011, as well as five observers, and the European Commission is also involved. In total, it accounts for 90% of Europe’s national public spending on water sector research.

Spain has headed this initiative since the outset, and this is no accident since Spain is the second most important country in Europe in terms both of the size of its water business – the Spanish sector posts annual revenue of €23 billion – and research in this area.

The JPI Water was unveiled in Madrid by Carmen Vela, Secretary of State for Research, who stressed that “initiatives such as this one prove that coordination and mutual support between countries are the key for transforming research and innovation in Europe”.

This will be done by putting together a strong strategic agenda with joint activities, such as research projects and scientific infrastructures. The medium and long-term objective is to achieve greater European competitiveness in the water industry, a sector with increasing importance in the world economy that is growing, on average, at a rate of 5%.