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EU invests 63.8 mln euros in new environmental projects

Xinhua, January 26, 2016 Adjust font size:

The European Union (EU) is to invest 63.8 million euros (69.1 million U.S. dollars) for the first-ever "Integrated Projects" to be funded under the LIFE program for the environment, announced the European Commission on Tuesday.

"Integrated Projects" were introduced to implement environmental legislation on a wider scale and increase the impact of funding for plans developed on the regional, multi-regional or national level.

The six projects selected this time have a total budget of 108.7 million euros (117.8 million U.S. dollars), including 63.8 million euros of EU co-financing, a Commission press release said.

In fact, they could leverage and coordinate over 1 billion euros (1.1 million U.S. dollars) in complementary funding from EU agricultural and regional funds, as well as national and private funds. The money would support projects in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Poland, Finland and Britain.

The main feature of these projects is their all-encompassing approach, ensuring involvement of multiple stakeholders and promoting the mobilization of at least one other funding source, be it EU, national or private, said the press release.

"This is an example of Europe directly investing in citizens' quality of life. To best tackle major environmental and health challenges such as air and water pollution or biodiversity loss, existing policies must be made to work towards the same goals. Integrated Projects deliver precisely that," said Karmenu Vella, EU Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. Endit