In a letter dated 5 June, 67 MEPs called on the European Commission to ensure the LIFE programme remains a stand-alone programme in the post-2027 multiannual financial framework (MFF). This financial instrument is designed to support innovative projects in the environment and climate sectors.
MEPs from the ranks of the S&D, the Greens/EFA, Renew Europe, The Left, and the EPP (a minority on this list) are worried that the LIFE programme in its current form will be either scrapped or integrated into the European Competitiveness Fund.
In mid-May, Commission guidelines on the next MFF revealed that the EU’s competitiveness fund would be structured into sector-based components organised around “key objectives”, including the green transition (see EUROPE 13641/8). According to César Luena (S&D, Spanish) and the letter’s other signatories, this “raise[s] concerns about whether LIFE would retain its environmental and climate focus or be redirected towards broader industrial policy priorities.”
By way of reminder, the MEPs noted that the LIFE programme is “the EU’s only funding instrument fully dedicated to the environment and climate.” They also pointed out, “Beyond specific instruments, spending targets have been the major factor in driving climate and biodiversity spending in the current MFF.”
According to the MEPs, the LIFE programme “play[s] a critical role in delivering on our international and EU commitments on biodiversity and climate action.”
See the MEPs’ letter: https://aeur.eu/f/h8p (Original version in French by Florent Servia)