{"id":1605,"date":"2022-11-25T06:21:35","date_gmt":"2022-11-25T06:21:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medusascs.com\/?post_type=news&p=1605"},"modified":"2025-02-03T10:32:58","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T10:32:58","slug":"the-eu-and-eib-global-team-up-to-upgrade-digital-connectivity-to-the-southern-neighborhood-through-medusa-submarine-cable-system","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/medusascs.com\/fr\/news\/the-eu-and-eib-global-team-up-to-upgrade-digital-connectivity-to-the-southern-neighborhood-through-medusa-submarine-cable-system\/","title":{"rendered":"The EU and EIB Global team-up to upgrade digital connectivity to the Southern Neighborhood through Medusa Submarine Cable System"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

In the margins of the\u00a0Union for the Mediterranean (UfM)<\/a>\u00a0Regional Forum<\/a> and the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial meeting taking place in Barcelona on the 24th of November 2022, the European Commission signed an agreement with the\u00a0European Investment Bank (EIB)<\/a>\u00a0for a\u00a0\u20ac40 million EU grant<\/strong>\u00a0to support high-speed fiber-optic connection under the\u00a0Op\u00e9rateur d'Infrastructures<\/a>\u00a0as part of the \u201cMEDUSA\u201d a<\/strong>\u00a0project led by AFR-IX telecom and supported by the EU\u2019s Economic and Investment plan for the Southern Neighborhood.<\/p>\n

This EU grant contribution will increase and guarantee the connectivity via the submarine cable and direct terrestrial links, up to the national research and education centers of EU\u2019s Southern Neighborhood region.<\/p>\n

Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations,\u00a0Oliv\u00e9r\u00a0<\/a>V\u00e1rhelyi,<\/strong>\u00a0said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Commission and the EIB are teaming up to implement one of the flagships of our Economic and Investment Plan to boost digital connectivity in the Southern Neighborhood. The\u00a0<\/em>\u20ac342 million MEDUSA project will directly connect, for the first time, the Northern and Southern shores of the Mediterranean Sea and the Southern countries among themselves via a high-capacity, multi-country, future-proof optical fiber submarine cable. Through this long cable, we will significantly upgrade the interconnectivity, stimulating innovation and research in the region, notably about 500 Universities, institutes of education and research centers and about 4,5 million students will benefit from increased connectivity. The MEDUSA project will inherently support the region\u2019s economic and social development<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

EIB Vice-President Ricardo\u00a0Mourinho F\u00e9lix<\/strong>\u00a0said:\u00a0\u201c<\/em>Digital transformation and high-speed digital connectivity is crucial in a post-pandemic world. The \u20ac40 million grant agreement signed today with the European Commission will improve connectivity between the EU and our North African Partners, bringing next generation access networks to the region while fostering socio-economic benefits. By working together, we can accelerate our efforts in promoting more integration in the region and encourage sustainable development and economic growth, providing more opportunities for all.<\/em>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

A\u00a0\u20ac40 million EU grant<\/strong>\u00a0will secure direct high-speed connectivity in particular between the research and education communities and users in the North African countries and the EU via the landing station in Barcelona. The\u00a0EIB<\/strong>\u00a0is expected to provide the debt finance for the infrastructure with a contribution of up to\u00a0\u20ac100 million in loans<\/strong>. The operation is still subject to the final approval of the EIB Governing Bodies.<\/p>\n

This funding will also provide an alternative route for data traffic on the targeted EU routes and allow EU telecom operators to become essential partners in supporting socio-economic growth in the region. \u201cMEDUSA\u201d contributes to the EU\u2019s Global Gateway and EIB Global. It is one of the flagship projects under the EU\u2019s new Agenda for the Mediterranean adopted last year to boost digital connectivity in the EU\u2019s Southern Neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Source:\u00a0EIB Global<\/a><\/p>\n

EIB Global<\/a>\u00a0is the EIB Group\u2019s specialised arm dedicated to increasing the impact of international partnerships and development finance.\u00a0 EIB Global is designed to foster strong, focused partnership within\u00a0Team Europe<\/a>, alongside fellow development finance institutions, and civil society. EIB Global brings the Group closer to local people, companies and institutions through our\u00a0offices across the world<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":1606,"parent":0,"template":"","tax-news":[],"class_list":["post-1605","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medusascs.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/1605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medusascs.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medusascs.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medusascs.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medusascs.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"tax-news","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medusascs.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax-news?post=1605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}