LIFE+ : MEPs delay implementation

To put this in its simplest terms this means that the European Parliament wants to negotiate with the European Council meaning that the decision on LIFE+ has to reach another and final stage of codecision known as conciliation or the third reading. The negotiations will now start at the beginning of 2007 to finalise details of the programme. For full details please read below:

MEPs adopted with an overwhelming majority (525 in favour, 65 against and 25 abstentions) the report drafted by Marie-Anne Isler-Beguin (Greens/ALE, FR) on LIFE+. MEPs rejected the Council's common position intending to allocate at least 80% of the LIFE+ budget for 2007-2013 to delegated management to the Member States.

They reaffirmed their wish to see the European Commission at the heart of the environment policy of the Union and avoid "re-nationalisation" of this policy. Contrary to the MEPs wishes, the European Commission, represented by Environment Commissioner Dimas, backed the Council's proposal to delegate management of LIFE+ to the Member States due to a lack of staff on the side of the Commission.

Funding Natura 2000 was the main topic of the first reading, particularly in the light of the negotiations taking place on the financial perspectives. The second reading focused on the allocation of budgetary resources.

In order to avoid a financial gap in case there is no agreement by the end of 2006, MEPs adopted an amendment "urging the Commission, in the absence of an agreement between the co-legislators on LIFE+ at second reading, to present a solution permitting the financing of activities falling under the institutional prerogatives that from 2007 onwards are due to fall under the LIFE+ programme". The amendment also "calls on the Commission to propose provisional measures for project activities in order to avoid a financing gap and to guarantee continuity of the Community’s environmental policy and sustainable development in 2007".

LIFE+ will now enter the final stage of co-decision, namely conciliation between the European Parliament and the Council.

The ground for the plenary debate was prepared by a meeting of the Parliament's Environment Committee on 14 September 2006. At this meeting, there was cross-party agreement opposing delegating management of the LIFE+ programme to Member States (37 to 1) and almost unanimous support (36 to 2) for the report submitted by Ms Isler Béguin. Delegated management is at the core of the Commission's proposal, and has been endorsed in the Council's Common position.

For more information and the stages the LIFE+ Programme has gone through please visit here