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LIFE+, the Financial Instrument for the Environment, has entered into force with the publication of the Regulation in the Official Journal L149 of 9 June 2007.
View the LIFE+ Regulation
04 May 2010The fourth LIFE+ call for proposals has been published on 04 May 2010, with up to €243 million available for co-financing of projects under three headings: nature and biodiversity; environment policy and governance; and information and communication.
Project proposals should be sent to the relevant national authority no later than 01 September 2010. Thereafter, national authorities will send project proposals on to the European Commission by 04 October 2010, and the Commission will check the outline projects against the LIFE+ eligibility criteria and will assess proposals on the basis of the LIFE+ selection and award criteria. Final announcement of the projects chosen for funding is expected in July/August 2011, with projects starting at the earliest on 1 September 2011.
Project promoters are encouraged to make best use of the time available up to the deadline for submission of proposals to national authorities (01 September). Project proposals should be carefully checked to ensure that they are in line with all the criteria set out in the call documents.
| Provisional calendar of the LIFE+ 2010 evaluation and selection procedure | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1/09/2010 | Deadline for applicants to send proposals to Member State authorities | |
| 4/10/2010 | Deadline for the Member States to forward proposals to the European Commission | |
| 10/2010 to 04/2011 |
Admissibility, exclusion and eligibility, evaluation and revision of the proposals | |
| 07/2011 to 08/2011 |
Signature of individual grant agreements | |
| 01/09/2011 | Earliest possible starting date for the 2010 projects | |
The European Commission has also scheduled Information sessions in each EU member state, in the national language, for potential LIFE+ applicants. The sessions will provide valuable advice and guidance on what national authorities and the Commission expect from project proposals. Potential applicants are advised to attend one of these workshops, which will take place in May or June 2010. The schedule of the Information sessions, and details on how to register, is published on the Information sessions page.
The LIFE+ Regulation allows EU countries to specify national priorities in relation to each LIFE+ call for proposals. For the 2010 call, eight countries (Estonia, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Sweden) have exercised this right. Projects from those countries are more likely to be selected for funding if they are in line with the relevant national priorities, as well as with the LIFE+ criteria. Read more about the respective national priorities in each of the eight countries.
LIFE+ Nature and Biodiversity supports projects that contribute to the implementation of the EU's Birds and Habitats Directives, and that contribute to the EU's goal of halting the loss of biodiverity. The maximum co-financing rate can be 75 percent, but is normally 50 percent.
LIFE+ Environment Policy and Governance supports technological projects that offer significant environmental benefits, for example process or efficiency improvements. This part of LIFE+ also helps projects that improve the implementation of EU environmental legislation, that build the environmental policy knowledge base, and that develop environmental information sources through monitoring (including forest monitoring). Projects can be co-financed up to a level of 50 percent.
LIFE+ Information and Communication co-finances up to 50 percent projects that spread information about environmental issues, such as climate change and conservation. This strand of LIFE+ can also support forest fire prevention awareness and training campaigns.
Find out more on the Information sessions for potential applicants organised by the Commission in each Member State
Find out more about the first projects approved under LIFE+.
