LIFE Operating Grants

LIFE Operating Grants 2026 LIFE-2026 provide Specific Operating Grant Agreements to non-profit organisations primarily active in environment, climate action and the clean energy transition to support annual operating costs. Applicants must simultaneously apply to and secure a LIFE Operating Grant Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA OG) for consideration, and organisations must be legally established in an EU Member State and operate at Union level with activities in at least three Member States. The total call budget is €14,500,000 with a funding rate of 70% of eligible costs, a maximum EU grant of €700,000 per financial year, and total eligible costs calculated as actual personnel costs plus a 50% flat-rate to cover other costs. Submissions are electronic via the Funding & Tenders Portal with an SGA deadline of 22 September 2026 (17:00 CET) and proposals are evaluated on relevance, quality and resources with an overall pass threshold of 35/60.

What it funds

Scope

Annual operating support for non-profit organisations primarily active in environment, climate action and clean energy transition. Grants finance an organisation's annual operating budget (personnel plus a 50% flat rate covering other costs). Operating grants are mono-beneficiary and do not fund specific projects.

Funding & limits:Available call budget €14,500,000. Funding rate 70% with a maximum grant per financial year of €700,000. Total eligible costs are calculated from declared personnel costs plus a 50% flat-rate covering other eligible costs ¹.

Who can apply

Non-profit legal entities (EU or associated countries) involved in development, implementation or enforcement of EU environment or climate policy, including clean energy transition. Natural persons are not eligible. Entities subject to EU restrictive measures or other exclusion criteria are ineligible.

Key eligibility condition

Applicants to the SGA call MUST also apply to the LIFE Operating Grants Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA OG) call; SGAs will only be concluded with organisations that have signed an FPA OG.

1. 1Apply to both LIFE-2026-NGO-OG-FPA (FPA) and LIFE-2026 (SGA).
2. 2Submit proposals online via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal before the SGA deadline (see table).
3. 3Grants are mono-beneficiary; applicants should prepare the required Part A/B/C forms and the mandatory detailed budget table.

Applications are evaluated for admissibility, eligibility, financial and operational capacity and on award criteria (relevance, quality, resources). Successful applicants enter grant preparation and must comply with reporting, visibility and audit rules.

Footnotes

1. 1Full call documentation, templates and submission are on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal topic page LIFE Operating Grants — SGA Topic.

Call summary and purpose

This call funds annual Specific Operating Grant Agreements (SGA OG) to support the annual operating budgets (or part of them) of non-profit organisations primarily active in the fields of environment, climate action and clean energy transition. SGAs will only be concluded with organisations that have successfully signed a LIFE 2026 Operating Grant Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA OG). Applicants to the SGA call MUST ALSO APPLY to the LIFE-2026-NGO-OG-FPA call. Operating grants are mono-beneficiary, budget-based grants using a mixed actual-cost approach with a 50% flat-rate applied to declared personnel costs to calculate total eligible costs. The call is managed by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA).

Call deadline:22 September 2026, 17:00 CET (deadline for submission of SGA proposals).

Available budget:€14,500,000 for the 2026 SGA call.

Expected impact and scope

Expected impact:Strengthen civil society participation in EU policy dialogue and support implementation and enforcement of Union environmental and climate objectives, including the clean energy transition. Scope: General financial support for organisational annual activities and running costs; not financing specific project actions. Operating grants follow action grant rules but do not distinguish direct/indirect costs. Grants are mono-beneficiary and may affect eligibility for indirect costs under other EU action grants. Applicants must outline measurable results, fill LIFE Project Indicators (LPIs) and demonstrate alignment with LIFE sub-programmes: Nature & Biodiversity, Circular Economy & Quality of Life, Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation and Clean Energy Transition.

Eligibility and applicant requirements

Applicants first apply to the FPA OG call. Eligibility for the SGA is conditional on successful signature of a LIFE 2026 FPA OG. Applicants must be non-profit making entities involved in development, implementation and enforcement of Union legislation and policy, primarily active in environment or climate action including energy transition. Natural persons are not eligible. Entities subject to EU restrictive measures are ineligible. Special measures apply to Hungarian public interest trusts subject to Council Implementing Decision 2022/2506. Participating organisations must have stable and sufficient resources and operational capacity; financial capacity checks apply (with thresholds and requested documents).

Geographic eligibility:Entities established in EU Member States, overseas countries/territories linked to the EU, countries associated to LIFE, or international organisations. Third-country entities not associated to LIFE may exceptionally participate where necessary to achieve EU environmental and climate objectives but should generally bear their own costs.

Detailed answers to categorisation and extraction questions

1. 1Eligible Applicant Types: Non-profit organisations and networks (NGOs), public bodies and other legal entities active in environment, climate action and clean energy transition; international organisations; public authorities may apply where eligible. Natural persons are not eligible. The call specifically targets NGOs and networks of non-profit making entities involved in development, implementation and enforcement of Union legislation and policy. Affiliated entities and associated partners may participate where rules allow, but SGAs are mono-beneficiary grants.
2. 2Funding Type: Grant (operating grant). The form is a budget-based mixed actual cost grant with a flat-rate element. The Model Grant Agreement used is the LIFE Operating Grants Flat Rate MGA (mono).
3. 3Consortium Requirement: Single beneficiary (mono-beneficiary). Operating grants always support one organisation for its annual activities. However, the organisation may use subcontractors, associated partners or third parties giving in-kind contributions; affiliated entities are possible under Framework Partnership Agreement rules but SGA is mono-beneficiary.
4. 4Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): EU Member States, overseas countries and territories linked to the EU, countries associated to the LIFE programme, and international organisations. Non-associated third countries may exceptionally be included when necessary for the action effectiveness.
5. 5Target Sector: Environment, climate action, clean energy transition; sub-themes covered include nature and biodiversity, circular economy and quality of life (waste, pollution, natural resources, environmental governance), climate change mitigation and adaptation, and clean energy transition (renewable energy, energy efficiency, governance, markets, capacity building).
6. 6Mentioned Countries: Explicitly mentions EU Member States as eligible. Also refers to Hungary in relation to rule-of-law special measures (Council Implementing Decision 2022/2506). It references countries associated to LIFE and overseas countries and territories linked to the EU, but no exhaustive country list in the call text. The document is EU-focused.
7. 7Project Stage: Operating grants support organisational work programmes across implementation, enforcement, capacity-building and advocacy. Expected maturity: organisational operating stage (implementation/operation), supporting activities across implementation, monitoring, enforcement and policy engagement rather than development or technology TRL stages.
8. 8Funding Amount: Funding rate 70% of total eligible costs. Maximum grant amount per financial year: €700,000. Total available call budget €14,500,000. Total eligible costs are calculated as actual personnel costs plus a 50% flat-rate on those personnel costs to cover all other costs. Personnel is the only actual cost to be declared.
9. 9Application Type: Open call for proposals through the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System. Single-stage submission. Applicants must also submit a parallel FPA proposal (LIFE-2026-NGO-OG-FPA) by its specified deadline (08 September 2026) and reference that FPA application number in the SGA form.
10. 10Nature of Support: Monetary funding (grant) — financial support to cover part of annual operating costs. No financial support to third parties is allowed under this call. Non-monetary support: guidance, templates, online manuals and Agency support for applicants are provided but the call’s deliverable is financial.
11. 11Application Stages: One-stage submission for the SGA (single-stage). However, evaluation is conditional on successful FPA evaluation: applicants must apply to both FPA and SGA; only applicants passing FPA are considered for SGA evaluation. Practical process: submit both FPA and SGA; FPA evaluation establishes ranking and eligibility; SGA proposals evaluated thereafter. So operationally there are two linked steps (FPA then SGA) though SGA is single-stage itself.
12. 12Success Rates: Not stated numerically in the call. Selection is competitive; ranking follows FPA evaluation order. The call reserves the right not to award all funds. Applicants should assume modest success rates given €14.5M budget and maximum €700K per beneficiary—only a limited number of SGAs will be funded. No explicit historical success rate provided in documents.
13. 13Co-funding Requirement: Yes. The funding rate for operating grants is 70% of eligible costs. Beneficiaries must therefore provide co-funding covering the remaining 30% of eligible costs from own resources or other non-EU funding. Co-funding is required and must be demonstrated in the budget and financial statements.
14. 14Templates: Application forms are provided through the Funding & Tenders Portal. Required documents and templates include: Application Form Part A (online administrative data), Application Form Part B (technical description; PDF uploaded, max 45 pages), Part C (additional data online), Detailed budget table (mandatory Excel template specific to LIFE OG FR NGOs), mandatory annexes, Model Grant Agreement (LIFE Operating Grants Flat Rate MGA), the Annotated Grant Agreement (EU Grants AGA), and the Multiannual Work Programme. The Part B template requires structured work packages (minimum WP1 organisational development and WP2+ policy/activity WPs), deliverables and a 12-month timetable. Personnel costs must be detailed in the budget table. Applicants must not alter templates or formatting. The submission system contains the specific application form version 'LIFE OG FR NGOs'. Detailed budget table template available at the call document links. For full lists and templates consult the Funding & Tenders Portal topic page LIFE Operating Grants topic.

Eligibility, budget calculation and financial rules (technical details)

Key cost and funding rules (full details in the Call Document and Model Grant Agreement):only personnel costs must be declared as actual costs. Total eligible costs = actual personnel costs + flat-rate of 50% of personnel costs (this 50% flat-rate covers travel and subsistence, equipment and depreciation, subcontracting, rental and other direct costs). Funding rate: 70% of total eligible costs. Maximum EU grant per financial year: €700,000. VAT: non-deductible VAT is eligible but VAT paid by public bodies acting as public authority is not eligible. Operating grants do not distinguish direct and indirect costs. Financial reporting uses Portal continuous and periodic reporting tools. Prefinancing is normally 60% of maximum grant amount, paid 30 days after entry into force or after receipt of financial guarantee when required. Certificates (CFS) may be required above thresholds (see call/data sheet).

Selection, evaluation and award criteria

Evaluation is single-stage for SGA proposals but only applicants that pass the FPA evaluation will be considered. Admissibility and eligibility checks are followed by operational capacity and award criteria evaluation. Award criteria (scores in parentheses): Relevance (0-20), Quality (0-20), Resources (0-20). Overall pass threshold: 35 points out of a maximum 60. Proposals passing the threshold are ranked and selected within available budget, taking into account the FPA-established ranking and priority order.

Evaluation timeline:Submission opens 12 May 2026. Deadline SGA 22 September 2026. Evaluation: September–December 2026. Information on results: January 2027. Grant signature expected Feb–Apr 2027.

Practical application requirements and submission process

All proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal Submission System using the exact forms inside the submission wizard. Part A (administrative) is entered online; Part B (technical description) must be downloaded from the Submission System template, completed and re-uploaded as PDF (max 45 pages for Part B). Mandatory annex: Detailed budget table Excel template (provided in Submission System). Do not alter templates, adhere to formatting rules (Ariel 10, margins, page limit). Applicants must confirm mandate and declarations of honour during submission. Draft proposals can be accessed in My Proposals in My Area. Assistance: IT Helpdesk for Portal issues and CINEA-LIFE-NGO@ec.europa.eu for call-related questions (contact at least 7 days before the deadline).

1. 1Submission method: Funding & Tenders Portal electronic submission only (no paper).
2. 2Two linked applications mandatory: FPA (deadline 08 September 2026) and SGA (deadline 22 September 2026).
3. 3Part B length limit: 45 pages. Excess pages disregarded.
4. 4Required annexes: detailed budget table (mandatory), other annexes as specified in the call.
5. 5Registration: organisations must be registered in the Participant Register and hold a validated PIC. LEARs manage entity data.

Risks, compliance and exclusions

Exclusion grounds apply (bankruptcy, fraud, serious professional misconduct, breaches of tax or social security obligations, involvement in organised crime, money laundering, terrorism financing, breaches of prior EU-funded contracts, etc.). Entities subject to EU restrictive measures are ineligible. Organisations must pass financial and operational capacity checks; the granting authority can request additional guarantees, prefinancing guarantees, joint and several liability or reject proposals if capacity is insufficient. The grant agreement contains detailed obligations on record-keeping, audits, checks, reporting, confidentiality, data protection, IPR and visibility rules.

Visibility and communication specificities:Special visibility obligations for operating grants: the European flag, funding statement, LIFE Programme logo and, where applicable, Natura 2000 logo must be limited to the beneficiary’s main website. Use on other materials or infrastructure requires prior written approval from the granting authority. A prescribed disclaimer must be used on the beneficiary website and where approved by the granting authority. See Model Grant Agreement and Call Document for precise wording and conditions Call Document and Templates. ¹

Templates and application structure (how to prepare Part B and annexes)

Application Form templates and annexes are provided in the Submission System and must be used without modification. Key structure notes for Part B (technical description):

1. 1Cover page and project summary (use Part A abstract).
2. 21. Relevance: demonstrate alignment with the FPA action plan and LIFE objectives; if any deviation justify it.
3. 32. Implementation: Work plan and detailed work packages. Minimum WPs: WP1 Organisational Development; WP2+ for policy/technical work areas. Describe objectives, tasks (numbered, e.g. T.1.1), deliverables (max 10–15 in total), outputs, indicators, channels, and verification means. Include a 12-month timeline with months counted from Month 1 (project start).
4. 43. Resources: Management and quality assurance, staffing, personnel descriptions and monthly rates, budget breakdown and justification, risk management.
5. 54. Other: Ethics and security declarations if applicable.
6. 6Annexes: Mandatory detailed budget table (Excel template provided), any required annual activity reports, legal and financial documents requested for validation and financial capacity checks.
7. 7Formatting: Max 45 pages for Part B; Arial 10 minimum font; A4 paper; margins at least 15 mm; do not delete instructions/tags in the template.

The detailed budget table requires a staff effort table (names/functions, monthly rates, person-months per WP) and a summary of personnel costs. The amounts in the online summarised budget (Part A) must match the detailed budget table; in case of discrepancy the online table prevails.

Contacts, help and useful links

For technical IT submission help use the EU Funding & Tenders Portal IT Helpdesk. For call content queries contact CINEA-LIFE-NGO@ec.europa.eu. Consult the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, the Call Document, Model Grant Agreement, Annotated Grant Agreement (AGA) and the detailed budget template available on the topic page. Guidance pages and FAQs on the LIFE website and CINEA portal provide additional support and video tutorials.

Direct topic page:ec.europa.eu

Footnote:Full call document, templates and Model Grant Agreement are available on the Funding & Tenders Portal topic page; applicants must use the application templates inside the Submission System and follow the Portal Online Manual for submission ¹.

Comprehensive summary

This opportunity is a 2026 LIFE Programme call for Specific Operating Grant Agreements addressed to non-profit organisations (NGOs and similar entities) primarily active in environmental and climate policy, including clean energy transition. It funds organisations' annual operational activities and capacity rather than individual projects. Applicants must also apply to the linked Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) call and only FPA-successful organisations will be considered for SGAs. Financially, only personnel actual costs are declared; a 50% flat-rate is added to personnel costs to compute other eligible costs; the EU funds 70% of eligible costs up to €700,000 per financial year. The call is open via the Funding & Tenders Portal; submissions must strictly use Portal templates and comply with page limits and documentation rules. Evaluation comprises admissibility, eligibility, operational capacity checks and award criteria (Relevance, Quality, Resources), with an overall pass threshold of 35/60. Applicants should prepare a 12-month work programme with WP1 on organisational development, detailed personnel budgeting in the provided detailed budget table, and measurable indicators in line with LIFE Project Indicators. The call contains standard EU grant compliance obligations (reporting, audits, record-keeping, visibility, data protection, exclusion grounds) and is managed by CINEA. Available budget for the SGA call is €14.5 million; given the per-beneficiary cap, competition will be selective. Use the Portal topic page and CINEA support contacts for official templates, FAQs and submission assistance; plan submission well ahead of the deadline to avoid technical risks.

Footnotes

1. 1Call documentation, templates and submission portal entry for LIFE-2026 are available via the Funding & Tenders Portal topic page: ec.europa.eu

Funding Opportunity Overview

The LIFE Operating Grants 2026 call provides financial support to non-profit making entities primarily active in environment and climate action, including clean energy transition. This call concerns Specific Operating Grant Agreements (SGA OG) which are awarded to organisations that have successfully signed a LIFE 2026 Operating Grant Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA OG). Operating grants provide general financial support to successful organisations to cover their annual operating budget or part of it, rather than supporting specific projects as action grants do.

Expected Impact and Objectives

The LIFE operating grants aim to strengthen the participation of civil society in EU policy dialogue and support implementation and enforcement of Union environmental and climate objectives, including the clean energy transition. The grants recognise that civil society organisations need long-term, predictable and sufficient funding to operate independently and effectively, and to make meaningful contributions to policy development, implementation and enforcement across the four LIFE sub-programmes: Nature and Biodiversity, Circular Economy and Quality of Life, Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, and Clean Energy Transition.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible Applicants

Applicants must be non-profit making legal persons that are independent from government, other public authorities, political parties and commercial interests. They must be primarily active in the field of environment and/or climate action with objectives aimed at the public good, sustainable development, and the development, implementation and enforcement of European Union environmental and/or climate policy and legislation. Applicants must be legally established in one of the European Union Member States and operating at Union level with a structure and activities covering at least three European Union Member States. ¹

Mandatory Two-Call Application Process

Applicants to the LIFE-2026 call must simultaneously apply to the LIFE-2026-NGO-OG-FPA call. The Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) is a long-term cooperation instrument serving as an umbrella for regular or recurrent grants. Successful completion and signing of the FPA is a mandatory prerequisite for consideration of the Specific Grant Agreement (SGA). The FPA evaluation must be completed before the SGA evaluation can proceed. Applicants must use their FPA application reference number in their SGA application form.

Exclusion Grounds

Applicants subject to EU exclusion decisions or in exclusion situations cannot participate. These situations include bankruptcy or similar procedures, breach of social security or tax obligations, grave professional misconduct, fraud, corruption, links to criminal organisations, money laundering, terrorism-related crimes, child labour, human trafficking, significant deficiencies in complying with main obligations under EU contracts or agreements, irregularities, creation under different jurisdiction to circumvent legal obligations, or intentional resistance to investigations or audits. Special restrictions apply to Hungarian public interest trusts established under Hungarian Act IX of 2021.

Funding Details

Available Budget:The total available call budget is €14,500,000. The granting authority reserves the right not to award all available funds or to redistribute them between call priorities depending on proposals received and evaluation results.

Funding Rate and Maximum Grant Amount:Operating grants are provided at a 70% funding rate with a maximum grant amount per financial year of €700,000. The grant awarded may be lower than the amount requested.

Total Eligible Costs and Flat Rate:The total eligible costs are calculated based on actual personnel costs with a flat-rate of 50% applied over those costs. This flat-rate covers all other costs including travel and subsistence, equipment and depreciation, subcontracting, rental and other direct costs. Applicants need only declare actual personnel costs; the 50% flat-rate simplifies application, implementation and reporting processes.

Eligible Activities and Scope

Operating grants support the functioning of non-profit entities involved in the development, implementation and enforcement of EU legislation and policy in environment or climate action. The grants do not support specific projects but rather the annual operating budget or part of it of the organisation. Operating grants are always mono-beneficiary grants supporting the annual activities of an organisation. The work programme must not include specific or detailed activities targeting directly Union institutions, individual members or staff thereof. Any engagement with Union institutions or their members and staff is entirely at the discretion of beneficiaries, who bear full responsibility for their own views and actions.

Eligible activities must relate to the four LIFE sub-programmes:Nature and Biodiversity, Circular Economy and Quality of Life, Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, and Clean Energy Transition. Projects must comply with EU policy interests and priorities and respect EU values and European Commission policy regarding reputational matters. Financial support to third parties is not allowed under this call.

Budget Categories and Cost Eligibility

Budget categories for this call are limited to two main categories:A. Personnel costs (specifically A.6 LIFE OG NGO personnel costs) and D. Other cost categories (specifically D.1 LIFE OG NGO Subcontracting, purchases and other costs). Personnel costs must be related to personnel working for the beneficiary under an employment contract or equivalent appointing act and assigned to work programme-related activities. They are limited to salaries, social security contributions, taxes and other costs linked to remuneration arising from national law or the employment contract.

Personnel costs are calculated using a daily rate method:annual personnel costs divided by 215 working days, then multiplied by the number of day-equivalents worked on the action. The total number of day-equivalents declared in EU grants for a person for a year cannot exceed 215. Non-deductible VAT is eligible. Ineligible costs include return on capital, debt and debt service charges, provisions for future losses, interest owed, currency exchange losses, bank costs, excessive expenditure, deductible VAT, and costs incurred during grant agreement suspension.

Application Deadlines and Timeline

Key Dates:Call opening: 12 May 2026. Opening for submission: 12 May 2026. Deadline for submission: 22 September 2026 at 17:00:00 CET (Brussels). Evaluation: September to December 2026. Information on evaluation results: January 2027. Grant Agreement signature: February 2027 to April 2027. ²

Application Process and Requirements

All proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System. Paper submissions are not accepted. Proposals must be submitted before the call deadline; after this deadline the system closes and proposals can no longer be submitted. Applicants must create an EU Login user account and register their organisation in the Participant Register to receive a 9-digit participant identification code (PIC) before submission.

The submission process is a 2-step process:first, create a user account and register the organisation; second, submit the proposal in four parts. Part A contains administrative information about the applicant organisation and summarised budget, to be filled in directly online. Part B is the technical description of the project, downloaded as a mandatory Word template, completed and uploaded as a PDF file. Part C contains additional project data, filled in directly online. Annexes including the mandatory detailed budget table must be uploaded as PDF files.

Proposal Page Limits and Format:Proposals are limited to a maximum of 45 pages for Part B. Evaluators will not consider any additional pages. The proposal must be readable, accessible and printable. Minimum font size is Arial 10 points. Page size must be A4 with margins of at least 15 mm on all sides. Proposals must use the correct template; not using the correct template or not complying with instructions may lead to inadmissibility.

At proposal submission, applicants must confirm they have the mandate to act for all applicants and that the information in the application is correct and complete. All participants must comply with conditions for receiving EU funding, especially eligibility, financial and operational capacity, and exclusion criteria. Before signing the grant, each beneficiary must confirm this again by signing a declaration of honour.

Evaluation and Award Procedure

Proposals follow a standard one-stage submission and one-step evaluation procedure. An evaluation committee assesses all applications. Proposals are first checked for formal requirements including admissibility and eligibility. Proposals found admissible and eligible are evaluated against operational capacity and award criteria. The ranking of proposals by score and priority order established after the FPA evaluation constitutes the order in which applicants are ranked once their SGA proposals have been evaluated; no new ranking is established after the SGA evaluation.

All proposals receive notification of the evaluation result. Successful proposals are invited for grant preparation; others are put on the reserve list or rejected. Invitation to grant preparation does not constitute a formal commitment for funding. Various legal checks must still be completed including legal entity validation, financial capacity assessment, and exclusion checks. Grant preparation may involve dialogue to fine-tune technical or financial aspects and may require additional information or adjustments to address evaluation committee recommendations.

Award Criteria

Proposals are evaluated against three award criteria, each worth a maximum of 20 points, for a total of 60 points maximum. The overall threshold for passing is 35 points. There is no minimum pass score for individual criteria. Proposals that pass the overall threshold are considered for funding within the limits of available budget. Other proposals are rejected.

Relevance (0-20 points):Extent to which the work programme is in line with the NGO applicant's framework partnership agreement, with any deviations justified.

Quality (0-20 points):Clarity, relevance and feasibility of the work programme; ambition and credibility of impacts expected due to the proposed activities.

Resources (0-20 points):Appropriateness of the organisation and management of the work; appropriateness of the budget and resources and their consistency with the work programme; revenue and expenditure in balance.

Financial and Operational Capacity

Applicants must have stable and sufficient resources to successfully implement the work programme and contribute their share. Organisations participating in several projects must have sufficient capacity to implement all projects. The financial capacity check is carried out on the basis of documents requested during grant preparation, such as profit and loss accounts, balance sheets, business plans, and audit reports from approved external auditors certifying accounts for the last closed financial year. The analysis is based on neutral financial indicators but also considers other aspects such as dependency on EU funding and deficit and revenue in previous years.

The financial capacity check is normally done for all coordinators except if the project requested grant amount is not more than €60,000. If financial capacity is not satisfactory, the granting authority may require further information, an enhanced financial responsibility regime with joint and several responsibility, prefinancing paid in instalments, one or more prefinancing guarantees, no prefinancing, or may request that the applicant is replaced or reject the entire proposal.

Applicants must have the know-how, qualifications and resources to successfully implement the work programme and contribute their share, including sufficient experience in projects of comparable size and nature. For framework partnerships, the operational capacity check is generally done at FPA-level and then again for each grant application in the grants calls.

Grant Agreement and Implementation

Starting Date and Duration:The Specific Grant Agreement starts on the first day of the beneficiary's financial year and ends on the last day of the beneficiary's financial year. The SGA work programme covers 12 months of activities.

Form of Grant:The grant is a budget-based mixed actual cost grant, meaning it reimburses only certain types of costs (eligible costs) and costs that were actually incurred for the project, not budgeted costs. For unit costs and flat-rates, beneficiaries can charge the amounts calculated as explained in the Grant Agreement.

Prefinancing and Payments:After grant signature, beneficiaries normally receive prefinancing to start working on the project, typically 60% of the maximum grant amount, paid 30 days from entry into force or financial guarantee, whichever is latest. There are no interim payments. At project end, the final grant amount is calculated. If total earlier payments exceed the final grant amount, the beneficiary must repay the difference. Payments are automatically lowered if the beneficiary or consortium members have outstanding debts towards the EU.

Prefinancing Guarantees:If a prefinancing guarantee is required, it is fixed in the Grant Agreement and set during grant preparation, normally equal to or lower than the prefinancing. The guarantee must be in euro and issued by an approved bank or financial institution established in an EU Member State. Amounts blocked in bank accounts are not accepted as financial guarantees. Guarantees are normally requested from the coordinator for the consortium and must be provided during grant preparation.

Reporting and Compliance

Beneficiaries must keep records on all work done and personnel costs declared. Reporting and payment arrangements are fixed in the Grant Agreement. Beneficiaries must submit periodic reports and financial statements according to the schedule set in the Data Sheet. The reporting language is the language of the Agreement. Beneficiaries must keep information stored in the Portal Participant Register up to date and inform the granting authority immediately of any events or circumstances likely to affect significantly or delay implementation of the action.

Depending on the type of action, size of grant amount and type of beneficiaries, beneficiaries may be requested to submit different certificates. Types, schedules and thresholds for each certificate are fixed in the Grant Agreement. Certificates on financial statements may be required if the requested EU contribution to costs is €100,000 or more.

Communication, Dissemination and Visibility

Specific visibility obligations apply for this call. The European flag and funding statement, the LIFE Programme logo and, where applicable, the Natura 2000 logo must be limited to the beneficiary's main website. The use of these logos on any other communication and information material, including electronic media and social media accounts, and on infrastructure, equipment, work vehicles, supplies or major results funded by the grant is subject to prior written approval from the granting authority.

The following disclaimer must be used on the beneficiary's website and where approved by the granting authority: 'This organisation receives an operating grant from the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the organisation only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor CINEA can be held responsible for them.' Any communication or dissemination activity related to the grant must use factually accurate information.

Support and Contact Information

For help related to this call, applicants should contact CINEA-LIFE-NGO@ec.europa.eu. Applicants are advised to consult the FAQs on the LIFE website and the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ for submission of proposals. For IT-related questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights, roles and technical aspects of proposal submission, applicants should contact the IT Helpdesk. An Online Manual provides step-by-step guidance through Portal processes from proposal preparation and evaluation to reporting on ongoing projects.

Questions should be sent at the latest 7 days before the submission deadline and must clearly indicate the reference of the call and topic. Applicants are advised to complete applications sufficiently in advance of the deadline to avoid last-minute technical problems. Problems due to last-minute submissions will be entirely at the applicant's risk. Call deadlines cannot be extended. The Portal Topic page should be consulted regularly for updates and additional information on the call.

Important Considerations for Applicants

Applicants must read the call documentation carefully, including the Call document, Model Grant Agreement, EU Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual and EU Grants AGA - Annotated Grant Agreement. Proposals that do not comply with all call conditions will be rejected. All applicants need to fulfil the criteria; if any one does not, they must be replaced or the entire proposal will be rejected. Proposals for projects that have already been completed will be rejected; proposals for projects that have already started will be assessed on a case-by-case basis with no costs reimbursed for activities before the project starting date or proposal submission.

Proposals may be changed and resubmitted until the deadline for submission. By submitting an application, all applicants accept the call conditions and the use of the electronic exchange system in accordance with the Portal Terms and Conditions. In accordance with Article 38 of the EU Financial Regulation, information about EU grants awarded is published each year on the Europa website, including beneficiary names, addresses, the purpose for which the grant was awarded and the maximum amount awarded. Publication can exceptionally be waived on reasoned and duly substantified request if there is a risk that disclosure could jeopardise rights and freedoms or harm commercial interests.

The submission of a proposal involves the collection, use and processing of personal data. This data is processed in accordance with applicable legal framework solely for evaluating the proposal, subsequent management of the grant and, if needed, programme monitoring, evaluation and communication. Details are explained in the Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement. ³

Geographic Scope

Proposals must relate to activities taking place in countries eligible under the LIFE Programme. Any proposed activities outside eligible countries must be necessary to achieve EU environmental and climate objectives and ensure the effectiveness of interventions carried out within eligible countries. Such actions outside eligible countries could include conservation of migratory birds in wintering areas, actions implemented on transboundary rivers, or projects addressing environmental problems that cannot be solved successfully or efficiently unless carried out also in non-eligible countries.

Key Differences from Action Grants

Operating grants differ fundamentally from action grants in several ways. Operating grants support the functioning of organisations and their general running costs rather than specific projects. They do not differentiate between direct and indirect costs because the grant aims to finance costs which would normally be considered indirect, such as general management costs and general running costs. Operating grants are always mono-beneficiary grants, meaning only one organisation receives the grant. Receiving an operating grant may impact the possibility to receive the indirect costs flat-rate in an EU action grant, so organisations should ensure they have appropriate accounting tools in place to combine them or that the operating grant covers enough general running costs to compensate for the loss of indirect costs in action grants.

Footnotes

1. 1For reference, previous calls required applicants to be non-profit making legal persons independent from government and other public authorities, primarily active in environment and/or climate action with objectives aimed at public good and sustainable development, legally established in EU Member States and operating at Union level with structure and activities covering at least three EU Member States. The 2026 call maintains these requirements as standard eligibility criteria for LIFE operating grants.
2. 2The deadline of 22 September 2026 is for Specific Operating Grant Agreements. The Framework Partnership Agreement deadline is 8 September 2026. Applicants must submit both proposals to be considered for operating grant funding.
3. 3Additional information on data protection and the processing of personal data in EU funding programmes is available in the Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement and the EU Grants AGA - Annotated Grant Agreement, which provide detailed guidance on all provisions in the Grant Agreement including cost eligibility, payment schedules and accessory obligations.