Court of Auditors' Special Report No 11/2003 of 2 March 2004 on the financial instrument for the environment (LIFE) — Council Conclusions
Date: 2004-03-02
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU financial instrument, environmental protection, report

10.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 61/1

I

(Information)

COUNCIL

COURT OF AUDITORS' SPECIAL REPORT No 11/2003

of 2 March 2004

on the financial instrument for the environment (LIFE) — Council Conclusions

(2004/C 61/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

(iii) by introducing,

1. WELCOMES

the Court

report
No 11/2003, which examined the conception, management
and implementation of
for the
environment (LIFE);

of Auditors'

the financial

instrument

special

2. AGREES with the Court's assessment that LIFE has been an
important instrument of the Community's environmental
policy; and RECALLS that LIFE remains the only instrument
dedicated to supporting this policy;

3. NOTES that the Court's audit focused in particular on the

second phase of LIFE (1996 to 1999);

4. FURTHER NOTES that the Court's main recommendations are

that:

(a) the role of LIFE be made clearer, particularly in relation
to Environmental Action Programmes, and that precise
objectives for the instrument, quantified where possible,
be defined;

(b) the Commission's existing management procedures be
improved. In particular, the Court recommended:

(i) improved

inter-service

consultation

to

avoid

double-funding;

(ii) the use of outside experts for the evaluation of
proposals under all three strands of the instrument,
to guarantee transparency of procedures; and

(iii) establishing a more precise definition of eligible
costs and improved controls for land purchases;

(c) there is a need for improved monitoring, control and
evaluation on the part of the Commission, including:

(i) maintaining and, if possible, increasing the number
and quality of on-the-spot checks on projects; and

(ii) through external audits of projects;

nation of project results,
the
projects;

effectiveness

into the strategy for the dissemi-
instruments to analyse
impact of

and measure

the

(d) more attention be given to using the results of projects,
in order to ensure that a satisfactory relationship is
achieved between financing and the attainment of
environmental policy objectives;

report;

and NOTES,

5. APPRECIATES the Commission's constructive response to the
special
the
Commission has already introduced measures which have
improved the management of
third phase
(2000 to 2004) along the lines of many of the Court's
recommendations;

in particular,

the current,

that

6. WELCOMES the Commission's

report

to the European
Parliament and the Council of 5 November 2003 on the
Mid-Term Review of Regulation (EC) No 1655/2000 which,
is largely
although relating to the current phase of LIFE,
based on projects financed under the previous phase of
LIFE; and NOTES that it recommended a simplification of
the management of
improved focus on
the instrument,
the priorities of the Sixth Environment Action Programme
and to better the use and dissemination of results, which is
again in line with the Court's recommendations;

7. SUPPORTS the Commission's recent initiative to propose an
extension of the current phase of LIFE until 2006 and to
incorporate in that extension certain other
recommen-
dations of the Court;

8. EXPRESSES some reservations about the Court's recommen-
dations on the definition of eligible costs as regards salary
costs and land purchases; and CONSIDERS that these recom-
mendations will require careful consideration;

9. CALLS UPON the Commission to have regard to the
remaining recommendations of the special report and of
the mid-term review in its
and
implementation of LIFE.

future management