06/12/24 (Agence Europe) – Twenty-six environmental NGOs have called on the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and her College of Commissioners to work to ensure a level playing field in the development of EU policies in respect of governments, multinational companies and lobbyists, in an open letter on Thursday 5 December. The NGOs reiterated the usefulness of the grants awarded to them by the European Commission via the LIFE programme. NGOs use this funding to contribute to the EU’s strategic priorities: mitigating climate change and ensuring an ecological transition without fossil fuels. Only a “fraction of this amount” is intended to support NGO work on EU environmental policies, the letter said, while the Commission recently told environmental NGOs that the funds they receive from the EU can no longer be used for advocacy and lobbying activities. (FS)