Brussels, 25/05/2005 (Agence Europe) - Following a seminar organised by the European Environment Bureau (EEB) in Brussels on 23/24 May on the funding of Natura 2000, the EEB stressed the key role the European Parliament will play in ensuring that Natura 2000 will be correctly funded in future, commenting that Natura 2000 is one of the EU's main instruments for meeting the agreed target of halting biodiversity loss by 2010. The European Commission estimates that around EUR 6.1 billion per year will be required to implement the programme. However, the EEB and other NGOs such as BirdLife are concerned that the Commission's policy gives insufficient guarantees that Member States will provide effective financing for Natura 2000.' Stephanie Lang of WWF said that it was up to the Member States to decide to allocate the necessary funding. Antonio Serrano, Spanish biodiversity minister, said EU co-funding could encourage Member States to not delay in implementing the necessary conservation measures and take their responsibilities seriously. It is not easy to estimate exactly how much it will cost to implement Natura 2000, but Aniol Esteban of Birdlife International said that EUR 6.1 bn is not enough because it does not take account of the increase in the number of sites covered by Natura 2000 or of the accession of Romania and Bulgaria. Birdlife believes at least EUR 8.12 bn will be required. In an EEB press release, Reimer Boge, rapporteur of the temporary European Parliament committee on the Financial Perspectives for 2007-2013 said he shared the concern of the seminar participants and said he would suggest that the European Parliament ask for stronger guarantees. He was strongly supported in this by the chair of that afternoon's discussions, Ralph Hallo. (Info: Pieter de Pous, EEB, Brussels, Tel: 02 289 1306.).