The European Union’s multi-annual financial framework is currently being reviewed for the post-2020 period. Rewilding Europe, together with a number of other leading European conservation NGOs in the European Habitats Forum, is calling for the budget of the LIFE programme to be significantly increased, along with a range of other amendments.

This Wednesday, President Jean-Claude Juncker and the EU Commission have confirmed that the EU’s flagship nature laws – the Birds and Habitats Directives – will be saved and not rewritten and weakened, ending two years of uncertainty over the laws’ future. They have also called for a plan to better implement and enforce these laws. This is a win for the record half a million people who called on the Commission to save and enforce these laws as part of the Europe-wide NatureAlert campaign.

Last week, an overwhelming majority of MEPs from all political groups sent a strong message to the European Commission and Council by adopting a key report which calls for more action to protect nature. Rewilding Europe welcomes the outcome of the European Parliament’s vote to protect EU Nature laws, the Birds and Habitats Directives.

Today, 20 European conservation organisations including Rewilding Europe,  present a joint paper called ‘Action for Biodiversity in the EU and the Fitness Check of the Birds and Habitat Directives’. The joint paper, which was developed under the umbrella of the European Habitats Forum states that the Fitness Check evidence is crystal clear – the Birds and Habitat Directives are fit for purpose and there is no case for “merging and modernising” them.

At its meeting on 16 April, the European Habitat Forum welcomed Rewilding Europe as new member. The European Habitats Forum assembles leading European nature conservation organisations to provide advice on the implementation and future development of EU biodiversity policy, including improving integration into sectoral policies.