LIFE Best Awards - 11 winners for the best EU projects
Commission announces winners of the 2015 LIFE Best Awards 
> LIFE 2014-2020 – Climate action, awarded 26 action grants
> Horizon 2020 - Environment, draft work programme 2016-2017
LIFE programme
The LIFE funding programme has been running since 1992 and has co-financed more than 4.000 projects across the EU and beyond, mobilising € 7,8 billion and contributing € 3.4 billion to the protection of the environment and climate. Around 1.100 projects are ongoing. The budget for the LIFE Programme for 2014–2020 is set at € 3,4 billion in current prices, and has a sub-programme for environment and a sub-programme for climate action.
LIFE has already co-funded more than 650 projects related to the circular economy, with a total budget of over € 1,6 billion. The majority of these projects have tackled waste, with water efficiency as another important priority.
2015 LIFE Best Awards
The awards recognise the most effective and inspiring LIFE projects in the field of nature protection and environment, which, if applied widely, would have a highly positive impact on the environment, boosting economic growth and providing significant benefits for European citizens.
From more than 50 finalists (“Best LIFE projects”), the most outstanding projects have been awarded the accolade “Best of the Best” LIFE project. The 11 winners include projects from Cyprus, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK
Selection criteria for the Best Projects focus on their contribution to both immediate and long-term environmental, economic and social improvements; their degree of innovation and transferability; their relevance to policy and their cost-effectiveness. The winning projects represent the three strands of the LIFE programme: Nature; Environment; Information & Communication.
