Firstly, the European Commission published the official results of the LIFE 2017 call, and a week later applicants, who submitted concept notes to the Call LIFE 2018, received the results of the Stage 1 evaluation. Slovenian applicants were successful in both calls. Applicants of projects listed to Stage 2 of the Call LIFE 2018 can apply for co-financing to the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning. The deadline for submission of full project proposal) is January 3, 2019.

At Call LIFE 2017 successful two LIFE projects with Slovene partners

The European Commission has approved an investment package of € 243 million from the EU budget for 142 new LIFE projects supporting nature, the environment and quality of life in Europe’s transition to a more sustainable and low-carbon future. By financing a number of transnational projects, the LIFE programme will have effects in all EU Member States.

Within the framework of the LIFE program, Slovenia will receive funding for the LIFE CEPLAFIB project, which aims to produce new products from scrap plastic and paper. CEPLAFIB is a new recycled plastics and fibre material from old newspapers, which is used in the packaging, automotive and construction industries. The project with total budget of 1.8 million € is coordinated by TECOS, the Slovenian Tool and Die Development Centre. The project consortium consists of companies and research institutions from Slovenia, Spain, Finland and Poland.

In addition, through the Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia for the Environment and Spatial Planning Slovenia also participates in Belgian project LIFE SWEAP, which focuses on the enforcement of legislation to prevent illegal waste trafficking. The project will strengthen existing enforcement networks and build the capacity of the competent authorities in all 36 Member States of European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law (IMPEL).

Six Slovenian applicants successful at the Stage 1 of the Call LIFE 2018

Since the European Commission wants to increase the number of project proposals submitted to LIFE calls, it has introduced a simplified, two-stage application process with the Call LIFE 2018 for LIFE sub-program for Environment. Consequently the number of submitted applications on the sub-programme for Environment in 2018 (1,071) doubled in comparison to 2017 (502). Slovenian applicants submitted 24 concept notes, six of which were listed for Stage 2. Applicants of selected concept notes must submit the full project proposal by January 30, 2019. Just like the concept note, also full project proposal is submitted via eProposal. The evaluation of the full project proposals will take place by April – May 2019. In case you want the co-financing of the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning for your project, the deadline for submission of the full project proposal is postponed to January 3, 2019.

In LIFE sub-programme for Climate Action, the process of submitting project proposals remained the same as in previous years. The deadline for submitting full project proposals was in September 2018. The European Commission received 124 project proposals, of which four were submitted by Slovenian applicants.