The Green Alliance is calling on the European Commission to continue the LIFE program.

Madrid, July 30 (EFE).- The Green Alliance has asked the European Commission (EC) to continue the LIFE program for nature and biodiversity conservation in the next European budget, it announced in a statement Wednesday.

The party has presented an initiative to the European Parliament to request the EC to continue the program, dedicated to investing in actions beneficial to the environment, nature, and climate, after the organization eliminated it in its draft budget.

The European Commission "erases" the LIFE program from its new budget

The Green Alliance has expressed its concern to the Commission about the program's elimination and asked it to explain how it plans to curb biodiversity loss. It has also urged it to explain how this decision will affect compliance with the Nature Restoration Act.

"The elimination of the LIFE program from the budget will have a brutal cost, from which many ecosystems will probably never recover, so it is essential that it be maintained," denounced the federal coordinator of the Green Alliance, Juantxo López de Uralde, who also accused the EU of "explicitly abandoning the leadership it once had" in the fight against climate change.

Integration with other financial instruments

Created in 1992, LIFE currently has a budget allocation of around €5.5 billion over seven years (around €800 million annually) in the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). However, the simplification exercise promoted by Brussels in the budget reform could put an end to this program as of 2027, at least as an independent instrument within the EU accounts.

Following the publication of the draft, Brussels has maintained that its objectives will continue to be implemented through the new Competitiveness Fund and national and regional plans, with a portion of the funds available for activities previously supported by this program if Member States so decide.