EU auditors determined that evaluating the environmental funds within the LIFE programme is challenging, according to their most recent audit. They also recommended that the European Commission enhance oversight as €358 million was recently allocated to 123 new LIFE projects.
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) reported that a formerly promising set of EU environmental funds designated for crucial projects has not transparently fulfilled its objectives to meet climate demands.
The financial support for “strategic projects” under the LIFE programme, the EU’s main initiative for environmental protection, aims to assist member states in applying climate legislation, including efforts to restore nature and safeguard natural ecosystems, water supplies, and air quality.
Nonetheless, after reviewing 22 projects across Finland, Poland, and Spain, the audit team concluded that their effectiveness remains “uncertain”.
This ambiguity diminishes the advantages for the nations and regions receiving funding, said the auditors, adding that knowledge exchange and dissemination of successful methods occur infrequently, limiting replication and wider influence.
According to the auditors, numerous projects were chosen without adequately considering the most urgent environmental and climate priorities of the member states. Additionally, they identified “deficiencies” in how sustainability outcomes were organized for some initiatives.
“Present monitoring methods do not permit a sufficient assessment of the contribution LIFE strategic projects make toward the EU’s environmental and climate goals,” states the ECA report.
Joëlle Elvinger, the ECA member responsible for the audit, explained that LIFE strategic projects are designed to provide essential assistance and attract further investment. However, she lamented the Commission’s “inconsistent” tracking and disclosure of supplementary funding from national or private resources.
Insufficient reporting and ambiguous results
The ECA also criticizes the EU Commission for failing to disclose the actual expenditures per project, offering only estimated amounts instead.
“There remain gaps in prioritizing urgent needs, tracking progress, and sharing findings. Moreover, the enduring impacts and sustainable benefits of the projects often remain vague,” Elvinger noted.
The auditors’ caution regarding weak oversight of critical EU climate funds emerged shortly after the Commission announced an additional €358 million support for 123 projects under the LIFE umbrella.
Between 2014 and 2020, the LIFE programme allocated €701 million to 70 strategic projects, according to the ECA. Since 2021, €436 million has been awarded to 25 further projects.
In a 2024 assessment of LIFE, the European Commission reported improvements in the conservation status of 435 species while reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and nitrogen oxides, resulting in a tenfold return on the €3.46 billion invested over the seven years up to 2020.
Redirecting climate funding to industry
Despite this, the LIFE programme has come under scrutiny following the Commission’s summer proposal to consolidate LIFE funding within the upcoming 2028-2034 budget into new cohesion and competitiveness funds.
Patrick ten Brink, secretary general of the green NGO European Environmental Bureau, described the plan as an act of “sabotage.”
“Abolishing the LIFE programme and merging its remaining elements into a broader competitiveness fund, stripping out biodiversity and environmental priorities, would dismantle one of the EU’s most effective tools precisely when it is most needed, given the high costs of inaction,” ten Brink stated.
Brooke Moore, research analyst at the think tank European Policy Centre, warned that this shift risks marginalizing biodiversity in favor of industrial objectives.
“Currently, LIFE has been incorporated into the European Competitiveness Fund, where biodiversity is mainly confined to more limited categories like ‘bioeconomy’, and fragmented among several other budget lines,” Moore said.
The Commission implicitly confirmed to Euronews on Wednesday that LIFE programme funding will merge with other EU funding streams.
“The objectives and activities previously financed by LIFE will continue under the EU’s 2028-2036 budget through the National and Regional Partnership Plans and the Competitiveness Fund,” stated a Commission spokesperson.
However, as discussions over the EU’s multiannual financial framework continue, some member states are pushing to reverse this restructuring.
An EU diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Euronews that altering the LIFE programme was not “the most constructive approach.”
“We would prefer LIFE to remain as a distinct ‘brand’, but negotiations are ongoing,” they added.