Regulation (EC) No 1682/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 September 2004 amending Regulation (EC) No 1655/2000 concerning the Financial Instrument for the Environment (LIFE)
Date: 2004-09-15
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: EU aid, EU financial instrument, environmental policy, environmental protection, financial aid

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Official Journal of the European Union

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I

(Acts whose publication is obligatory)

REGULATION (EC) NO 1682/2004 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 15 September 2004

amending Regulation (EC) No 1655/2000 concerning the Financial Instrument for the
Environment (LIFE)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community and in particular Article 175(1) thereof,

(3) A Sixth Community Environment Action Programme
was adopted on 22 July 2002 by Decision No 1600/
the
the European Parliament and of
2002/EC of
Council
It is necessary to adapt Regulation (EC)
(4).
No 1655/2000 to the objectives and priorities laid down
in that Programme.

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and
Social Committee (1),

(4) There is a need to bridge the gap between the expiry of
the third phase of LIFE and the new, post‑2006 financial
perspectives,
two years ending on
31 December 2006.

for a period of

After consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty (2),

Whereas

(1) The financial instrument for the environment, LIFE, as
established by Regulation (EC) No 1655/2000 of the
is being
European Parliament and of the Council
implemented in phases the third of which will end on 31
December 2004.

(3),

(2) Given the positive contribution of LIFE to the attainment
of the objectives of Community policy on the environ-
ment and with a view to further contributing to the
implementation, updating and development of Commu-
nity environment policy and of environment legislation,
in particular as regards the integration of the environ-
ment into other policies, and to sustainable development,
the duration of the third phase should be extended until
31 December 2006.

(5) LIFE should be reinforced as a specific financial
instrument, complementary to the Community research
programmes and to the Structural Funds and rural
development programmes. Efforts should be made to
encourage more efficient use of
these Community
instruments for the funding of elements of
financial
environment and nature projects. Appropriate measures
should also be put in place to prevent the possibility of
double funding.

(6) The Communication entitled ‘Developing an action plan
technology’ was adopted by the
for environmental
Commission on 25 March 2003. This Communication
was followed by an environmental technology action
plan adopted on 28 January 2004, which should serve as
a reference for the guidelines for LIFE Environment.

(7) The Court of Auditors' special report No 11/2003 (5)
examined the conception, management and implementa-
tion of LIFE. It is appropriate to have regard to the
Court's recommendations.

(1) OJ C 80, 30.3.2004, p. 57.
(2) Opinion of the European Parliament of 21 April 2004 (not yet
published in the Official Journal) and Decision of the Council of
26 July 2004.

(3) OJ L 192, 28.7.2000, p. 1. Regulation as amended by

Regulation (EC) No 788/2004 (OJ L 138, 30.4.2004, p. 17).

(4) OJ L 242, 10.9.2002, p. 1.
(5) OJ C 61, 10.3.2004, p. 1.

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(8) On 1 May 2004 10 new Member States joined the
European Union and this should be reflected accordingly
in the budget allocation to LIFE.

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

(9) The exploitation and dissemination of results should be
improved and the amount allocated in the budget for
that purpose should be increased.

Article 1

(10) Projects still ongoing at the end of 2006 should continue

to be monitored and audited.

(11) In its Judgment of 21 January 2003 (1) the Court of
Justice of the European Communities annulled Article 11
(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1655/2000. The Court
declared that ‘the effects of Article 11(2) of Regulation
(EC) No 1655/2000 are to be fully maintained until the
Parliament and the Council adopt new provisions
concerning the committee procedure to which the
measures for the implementation of that Regulation are
subject’.

(12) In accordance with Article 233 of

the
institutions whose act has been declared void are
required to take the necessary measures to comply with
the judgment of the Court of Justice.

the Treaty,

(13) The measures that the Commission is empowered to
adopt under the implementing powers conferred on it by
Regulation (EC) No 1655/2000 are management mea-
sures relating to the implementation of a programme
with substantial budgetary implications within the
meaning of Article 2(a) of Council Decision 1999/468/
EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the
exercise of
implementing powers conferred on the
Commission (2). Those measures should therefore be
adopted in accordance with the management procedure
provided for
that Decision, with-
out prejudice to the committee procedure to be chosen
for any further development of LIFE or a financial
instrument exclusively in the environmental field.

in Article 4 of

(14) This Regulation lays down, for the entire duration of the
programme, a financial
framework constituting the
prime reference, within the meaning of point 33 of the
Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the
European Parliament, the Council and the Commission
on budgetary discipline and improvement of
the
(3), for the budgetary authority
budgetary procedure
during the annual budgetary procedure.

(1)

Case C-378/00 Commission v European Parliament and Council
[2003] ECR I‑937.

(2) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.
(3) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1. Agreement as amended by Decision
2003/429/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
(OJ L 147, 14.6.2003, p. 25).

Regulation (EC) No 1655/2000 is amended as follows:

1. Article 3 shall be amended as follows:

(a)

in paragraph 3:

(i)

point (a) shall be replaced by the following:

‘(a) 50 % for nature conservation projects,
100 % of eligible costs excluding over-
heads and durable goods for accompany-
ing measures pursuant to paragraph 2(b)
(i) and (ii) and 100 % of costs for
accompanying measures pursuant
to
paragraph 2(b)(iii);’

(ii)

the following point shall be added:

‘(c)

the salary costs of a civil servant shall be
considered eligible only to the extent that
they relate to the cost of activities that the
relevant public authority would not carry
out if the project concerned were not
undertaken.’;

(b)

the following paragraph shall be inserted:

‘3a. The grant of assistance in respect of a project
that involves the acquisition of land shall be subject
to the condition that the land purchased is reserved
in the long term for uses of land consistent with the
objective of LIFE-nature set out in paragraph 1.
Member States
transfer or
otherwise, ensure the long-term reservation of such
land for nature conservation purposes.’;

shall, by way of

(c)

in paragraph 7 the second subparagraph shall be
replaced by the following:

‘In accordance with Article 116 of Council Regula-
tion (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002
on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general
budget of the European Communities (*), a decision
shall be adopted by the Commission on the projects
which have been accepted and grant agreements
shall be concluded with the beneficiaries laying
the
down the amount of
financial procedures and controls, and the specific
technical conditions of the project approved.

financial assistance,

(*) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.;’

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(d) paragraph 8 shall be replaced by the following:

‘8. At the Commission's initiative:

The Commission shall also establish guidelines on
preparatory projects referred to in paragraph 2(b). It
shall publish such guidelines in the Official Journal of
the European Union and inform the committee
referred to in Article 11(1) of their publication.

(a)

(b)

accompanying measures to be financed pur-
suant to paragraph 2(b)(i) and (ii) shall, after
consultation of the committee mentioned in
Article 21 of Directive 92/43/EEC, be the
subject of calls for proposal. Member States
may submit proposals on accompanying
measures to the Commission,

accompanying measures to be financed pur-
suant to paragraph 2(b)(iii) shall be the subject
of calls for tender. All calls for tender shall be
published in the Official Journal of the European
Union where the specific criteria to be met
shall be set out.’;

2. Article 4 shall be amended as follows:

(a)

in paragraph 3

(i)

the fourth subparagraph shall be replaced by
the following:

‘The rate of Community financial support shall
be 100 % of eligible costs excluding overheads
and durable goods for accompanying measures
pursuant to paragraph 2(c)(i) and 100 % of
costs for accompanying measures pursuant to
paragraph2(c)(ii).’;

(ii)

the following subparagraph shall be added:

‘The salary costs of a civil servant shall be
considered eligible only to the extent that they
relate to the cost of activities that the relevant
public authority would not carry out if the
project concerned were not undertaken.’;

(b) paragraph 4 shall be replaced by the following:

‘4. As far as demonstration projects referred to in
paragraph 2(a) are concerned, guidelines shall be
established by the Commission, in accordance with
the procedure referred to in Article 11(2), and
published in the Official
the European
Union.

Journal of

Those guidelines shall indicate the priority areas and
objectives for demonstration projects with an
explicit reference to the priorities set out in Decision
No 1600/2002/EC (*).

The guidelines shall ensure that LIFE‑Environment is
complementary to the Community research pro-
grammes and to the Structural Funds and rural
development programmes.

(*) OJ L 242, 10.9.2002, p. 1.;’

(c)

in paragraph 6, points (d) and (e) shall be replaced
by the following:

‘(d) being capable of promoting the wide applica-
tion and dissemination of practices, technolo-
to
g i e s
environmental protection;

an d / o r p r o d u c t s

c o n d u c i v e

(e)

aiming at developing and transferring innova-
tive technologies or methods which can be
used in identical or similar situations, particu-
larly in new Member States;’

(d) paragraph 8 shall be replaced by the following:

‘8. At the Commission's initiative:

(a)

projects to be financed pursuant to paragraph
to be
2(b) and accompanying measures
financed pursuant to paragraph 2(c)(i) shall,
after consultation of the committee mentioned
in Article 11(1), be the subject of calls for
proposal. Member States may submit propo-
sals for projects to be financed pursuant to
paragraph 2(b) and accompanying measures to
be financed pursuant to paragraph 2(c)(i) to
the Commission;

(b)

accompanying measures to be financed pur-
suant to paragraph 2(c)(ii) shall be the subject
of calls for tender. All calls for tender shall be
published in the Official Journal of the European
Union where the specific criteria to be met
shall be set out.’;

(e)

paragraph 11 shall be replaced by the following:

‘11. In accordance with Article 116 of Regulation
(EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002, a decision shall be
adopted by the Commission on the projects which
have been accepted and grant agreements shall be
concluded with the beneficiaries laying down the
amount of financial assistance, the financial proce-
dures and controls, and the specific technical
conditions of the project approved.’;

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3.

in Article 5, paragraph 9, shall be replaced by the
following:

6. Article 9 shall be amended as follows:

the Commission's

‘9. At
initiative, accompanying
measures to be financed under paragraph 2(b) shall be
the subject of calls for tender published in the Official
Journal of the European Union where the specific criteria to
be met shall be set out.’;

4.

in Article 7, the title and paragraph 1 shall be replaced by
the following:

‘Article 7

Consistency and complementarity between financial
instruments

f i n a n c i a l

1. Without prejudice to the conditions for accession
candidate countries set out in Article 6, projects receiving
aid provided for under the Structural Funds or other
Community budget instruments shall not be eligible
t h i s
f o r
Regulation. The Commission shall ensure that applicants'
attention is drawn to the fact that they cannot cumulate
subsidies from different Community funds. Appropriate
measures shall be put in place to prevent the possibility
of double funding.

a s s i s t a n c e

u n d e r

(a)

in paragraph 1, the following subparagraph shall be
added:

‘The Commission shall ensure that the results of all
funded projects are disseminated to the general
public and shall further demonstrate how the skills
and experience gained may be reproduced
elsewhere.’;

(b)

the following paragraph shall be added:

‘6. The Commission shall publish annually a
complete list of projects financed including a short
description and a summary of funds expended in
each case.’;

7.

Article 11(2) shall be replaced by the following:

‘2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 4
and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having
regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period referred to in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/
468/EC shall be set at three months.’

8. Article 12 shall be replaced by the following:

The Commission and Member States shall
inform
applicants of the different Community financial instru-
ments available for the funding of elements of environ-
ment and nature projects.’;

‘Article 12

5. Article 8 shall be amended as follows:

(a)

in paragraph 1, the following subparagraph shall be
added:

‘The third phase shall be extended by two years until
31 December 2006. The financial framework for the
implementation of
this Regulation is hereby set
at EUR 317,2 million. The budgetary authority shall
authorise annual appropriations in the context of the
annual budgetary procedure and within the limits of
the applicable financial perspective.’;

(b)

in paragraph 3, the second subparagraph shall be
replaced by the following:

‘For the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December
2006, the accompanying measures shall be limited
to 6 % of the available appropriations.’;

Evaluation of the third phase and continuation of
LIFE

1. Not later than 30 September 2005, the Commission
shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council:

(a)

(b)

a report updating the mid-term review submitted in
November 2003 and evaluating the implementation
of this Regulation, its contribution to the develop-
ment of Community environmental policy, and the
use made of the appropriations; and

if appropriate, a proposal for the further develop-
ment of LIFE or a financial instrument exclusively in
the environmental field that,
inter alia, shall take
account of the recommendations of the review of
LIFE, to apply from 2007 onwards.

2. Following the Commission's adoption of such a
proposal,
the European Parliament and the Council,
acting in accordance with the Treaty, shall decide no later
that
than 1 May 2006 on the implementation of
financial instrument, as from 1 January 2007.

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3. The amount needed within the financial framework to
provide for monitoring and auditing measures in the
period following 31 December 2006 shall be deemed to
be confirmed only if
is consistent with the new
financial perspectives commencing in 2007.’

it

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Strasbourg, 15 September 2004.

For the European Parliament
The President
J. BORELL FONTELLES

For the Council
The President
A. NICOLAÏ