Europe’s water sector learned with alarm of the European Commission’s intention to revise the Water Framework Directive (WFD) again in order to promote mining activities across the continent. A revision of the WFD is ongoing at the time of writing.
The RESourceEU Action Plan presented by the Commission on 3 December contained a commitment to “review and revise the Water Framework Directive” within the next six months as part of a broader effort to increase the share of raw materials extracted, processed and recycled in the EU. This very short deadline will likely leave no time to conduct an impact assessment for the measures to be proposed in this new revision, in direct contradiction to the Commission’s own Better Regulation Guidelines. A full impact assessment must be conducted to assess the environmental, social and economic impact of the proposed measures.
EurEau expresses strong concerns that a hasty reopening of the WFD, mere months or weeks after the ongoing revision is to be concluded, would create considerable uncertainty for water operators and national authorities. The trilogue agreement reached last September on the WFD (just in time for the next River Basin Management Plans) is not yet adopted into law, and already it is under threat. This degree of legal instability undermines the effective protection of consumers, the environment, and water services.
Days away from the Water Resilience Forum (to be held in Brussels on 8 December), we cannot help but note that the key principles of the 2025 Water Resilience Strategy are already weakened. If the Commission is serious about restoring and protecting water, promoting efficient water use, and ensuring access to clean and affordable water for all, this current course of action is markedly at odds with those objectives.