On Tuesday 11 November, MEPs from the centre and left groups in the European Parliament once again deplored the dilution of the LIFE programme in a target of 35% spending on climate and the environment in the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework, during an exchange with the European Commission on environmental funding.
Their fear is that integrating the LIFE programme into other funds (such as the Competitiveness Fund and national plans) will dilute its effectiveness and weaken EU environmental policy.
Several MEPs praised the effectiveness of an important EU programme, which has been praised by the European Court of Auditors for its efficiency in ensuring that spending on biodiversity and the environment is carried out.
“It would be the first time in over 30 years that there was no longer any specific, independent funding for biodiversity”, lamented Martin Günther (The Left, German). “You don’t change a winning team, and the LIFE programme has been a true European champion for the last 33 years”, insisted Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy (Renew Europe, Dutch).
A number of MEPs, including César Luena (S&D, Spanish) and Kai Tegethoff (Greens/EFA, German), also pointed to the risk of a problem with the classification of expenditure in the transversal objective of 35% of MFF spending on climate and the environment. According to Stine Bosse (Renew Europe, Danish), the target will be “unfortunately easy to meet” if it includes greener financing for critical raw materials, fossil fuels and airports. (Original version in French by Florent Servia)