Environment: promoting NGO primarily active in the field of environmental protection (Community action programme)

OBJECTIVE: to promote European organizations active in the field of environmental protection, mainly by cofinancing their administrative activities. CONTENT: the fields of action eligible for Community aid are: - information on the environment (40% of funds): . dialogue and exchanges of information between NGOs, . development of their environmental protection information and documentation infrastructures; - analysis of environmental measures (40%): . promotion of ecological projects with a multiplier effect, . drafting of reports on the extent of ecological problems which the Community could address, . analysis of the penetration of the "environment" dimension in EC policies; - cooperation between "environmental players" and NGOs active in the field of the environment at European level (20%): . promotion of cooperation between partners in the fifth Community action programme, . promotion of a multisectoral approach to the environment, . coordination between Community programmes and national, regional and local environmental projects. Financial aid consists of cofinancing for projects or subsidies for the NGOs themselves (up to a total not exceeding, in principle, 40% of the operating expenses of NGOs over a maximum of 3 years). - Implementation: the Commission will determine and select the projects to be financed and will ensure that they are consistent with and complementary to Community action in the same field. An opinion will be published on 30 September each year setting out the priority activities and the selection criteria for allocating appropriations for the following year. There will be supervision and penalties in the event of any irregularity. A list of initiatives funded will be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities every year. - Report: the Commission will submit a report on the first three years of this programme to the European Parliament and the Council by 30 June 1999. A new programme, to be implemented from 1 January 2000, will be decided on the Commission's proposal. - Duration and financial reference amount: the programme is planned for a period of four years (1996-2000) with a total budget of ECU 10.6 million.�