Brussels, 13/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - The proposal for a regulation on the establishment of a reformed LIFE programme 2014-2020 dedicated to the environment and climate action, with simpler eligibility procedures and clearer priorities (see EUROPE 10514) has been rather warmly welcomed by EU environment ministers. Their first debate, on 9 March, did not deal with the budget proposed by the European Commission (€3.2 billion) but focused on the geographical balance in the allocation of LIFE funding among the various countries and on the joint funding levels for eligible projects.
Most member states believed that the concept of geographical balance was relevant for the distribution of Integrated Projects (these large-scale projects being one of the main innovations of the proposal), although many member states would prefer the concept to be clarified further and specific criteria for the implementation of geographical balance to be included in the regulation. Several member states considered that the merit and quality of the projects should be the first criteria. Some member states considered that the geographical balance should apply to all types of projects, while others preferred this concept to be translated into criteria for national allocation, as in the existing LIFE+ Regulation. Many member states would like to maintain VAT and permanent staff costs as eligible costs, even if that implied a decrease in allocations. (AN/transl.rt)