Multiannual work programme
1. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, adopt multiannual work programmes for the LIFE Programme. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 22(2).
2. Each multiannual work programme shall specify, in line with the objectives set out in Article 3, the following:
(a)
the amounts to be allocated between needs under each subprogramme and between different types of funding, as well as the maximum total amount to be allocated to grants as referred to in points (a) and (b) of Article 11(2);
(b)
the maximum total amount for financing in the form of financial instruments within blending operations under the LIFE Programme, where applicable;
(c)
the maximum total amount for grants to be awarded to the bodies listed in Annex I in accordance with Article 13;
(d)
the project topics or specific needs for which there is pre-allocation of funding for the projects referred to in points (c) and (d) of Article 11(2);
(e)
the strategies and plans targeted by strategic integrated projects for which funding may be requested for projects as referred to in point (b) of Article 11(2);
(f)
the maximum eligibility period for the implementation of the projects;
(g)
indicative timetables for the calls for proposals for the period covered by the multiannual work programme;
(h)
the technical methodology for the project submission and selection procedure, and the award criteria in accordance with the elements referred to in Article 14;
(i)
the co-financing rates referred to in Article 9(4);
(j)
the maximum co-financing rates for the eligible actions referred to in point (e) of Article 11(2);
(k)
where relevant, detailed rules concerning the application of cumulative and alternative financing;
(l)
low effective participation and eligible activities and award criteria for technical assistance projects for the capacity building related to the activities of Member States' authorities for effective participation in the LIFE programme.
3. The duration of the first multiannual work programme shall be four years and the duration of the second multiannual work programme shall be three years.
4. In the framework of the multiannual work programmes, the Commission shall publish calls for proposals for the period covered. The Commission shall ensure that unused funds in a given call for proposals are reallocated between the different types of actions referred to in Article 11(2) within the same field.
5. The Commission shall ensure that stakeholders are consulted in the development of the multiannual work programmes.
Monitoring and reporting
1. The Commission shall report on progress of the LIFE Programme towards the achievement of the objectives set out in Article 3, based on the indicators set out in Annex II.
2. To ensure the effective assessment of the LIFE Programme's progress towards the achievement of its objectives, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 23, to amend Annex II to review or complement the indicators where considered necessary, including with a view to their alignment with indicators set out for other Union programmes, and to supplement this Regulation with provisions on the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation framework.
3. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 23 to supplement this Regulation by defining, on the basis of Annex II, specific indicators for each subprogramme and type of project.
4. The Commission shall ensure that data for monitoring programme implementation and results are collected efficiently, effectively, and in a timely manner. To that end, and in accordance with relevant methodologies, proportionate reporting requirements shall be imposed on recipients of Union funds to enable the collection of aggregable project-level output and impact indicators for all relevant specific environment and climate policy objectives, including in relation to Natura 2000 and the emissions of certain atmospheric air pollutants, including CO 2 .
5. The Commission shall regularly monitor and report on mainstreaming of climate and biodiversity objectives, including the amount of expenditure. While taking into account the demand-driven nature of the LIFE programme, 61 % of the overall amount of the LIFE Programme as defined in Article 5 is expected to contribute to the budget-wide target of at least 30 % of expenditure contributing to climate objectives. This contribution shall be tracked through the Union climate marker system. This Regulation shall contribute to mainstreaming biodiversity action in the Union's policies and to the achievement of the overall ambition of providing 7,5 % of annual spending under the multiannual financial framework to biodiversity objectives in 2024 and 10 % of annual spending under the multiannual financial framework to biodiversity objectives in 2026 and in 2027, while considering the existing overlaps between climate and biodiversity goals.
Biodiversity-related spending shall be tracked using an effective, transparent and comprehensive methodology to be set out by the Commission, in cooperation with the European Parliament and with the Council, as referred to in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 16 December 2020 between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management, as well as on new own resources, including a roadmap towards the introduction of new own resources. Those tracking methods shall be used to quantify the commitment appropriations expected to contribute respectively to climate and to biodiversity objectives over the multiannual financial framework for 2021-2027 at the appropriate level of disaggregation. The spending shall be presented annually in the Programme Statement. The contribution of the LIFE Programme to Union climate and biodiversity objectives shall be reported regularly in the context of evaluations and the annual report.
6. The Commission shall assess synergies between the LIFE Programme and other complementary Union programmes and those between its subprogrammes.
Evaluation
1. The Commission shall carry out evaluations provided for under this Regulation in a timely manner to feed into the decision-making process with due regard for coherence, synergies, Union added value and long-term sustainability, taking account of the Union's climate and environment priorities.
2. The Commission shall perform the mid-term evaluation of the LIFE Programme once there is sufficient information available about its implementation, but no later than 42 months after the start of the implementation of the LIFE Programme, making use of the indicators as set out in accordance with Annex II.
The evaluation shall cover at least the following:
(a)
qualitative and quantitative aspects of the implementation of the LIFE Programme;
(b)
efficiency of the use of resources;
(c)
the degree to which the objectives of all the measures have been achieved, specifying where possible, results and impacts;
(d)
the actual or expected success of projects in leveraging other Union funds, taking into account, in particular, the benefits of increased coherence with other Union financial instruments;
(e)
the extent to which synergies between the objectives have been reached and the complementarity of the LIFE Programme with other relevant Union programmes;
(f)
the Union added value and long-term impact of the LIFE Programme, with a view to taking a decision on the renewal, modification or suspension of measures;
(g)
the extent to which stakeholders have been involved;
(h)
a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the contribution of the LIFE Programme to the conservation status of habitats and species listed in Directives 92/43/EEC and 2009/147/EC;
(i)
an analysis of the geographical coverage across the Union, as referred to in Article 9(5), and, if no such coverage is reached, an analysis of the underlying reasons for such lack of coverage.
3. At the end of the implementation of the LIFE Programme, but no later than four years after the end of the period specified in the second paragraph of Article 1, the Commission shall carry out a final evaluation of the LIFE Programme.
4. The Commission shall communicate the conclusions of the evaluations accompanied by its observations to the European Parliament, to the Council, to the European Economic and Social Committee and to the Committee of the Regions. The Commission shall make the results of the evaluations publicly available.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
