On 21 May 1992, two monumental laws were introduced in the European Union: the Habitats Directive and the LIFE ;  The Habitats Directive led to the creation of Natura 2000, a Europe-wide network of protected natural areas. And the LIFE Regulation laid the foundation for the LIFE Programme, the EU’s funding programme for environmental protection and climate action, which is celebrating its 32nd anniversary this year. Since 1992, the LIFE Programme has co-financed more than 5600 projects across the EU and supported the conservation of more than 6000 sites within the Natura 2000 network. The European Commission has increased the LIFE budget to € billion for 2021 to 2027.