Our latest recommendations on the Water Framework Directive warn that efforts to strengthen Europe’s access to strategic raw materials must not undermine the resilience of water services or the protection of drinking water resources.
Water services are recognised as critical entities under EU law, providing essential services for citizens, businesses and industry. The European Commission’s Water Resilience Strategy also highlights that water security is a matter of crisis preparedness for the EU. At the same time, the Commission’s RESourceEU Action Plan foresees a possible revision of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in 2026 to facilitate access to critical raw materials.
The WFD has delivered significant improvements in water management across Europe over the past 25 years and remains a fit-for-purpose framework. Weakening its safeguards could have serious consequences for drinking water resources, particularly given the pollution risks associated with mining activities. Contamination from such activities is often extremely difficult and costly to remove once it occurs.
Our recommendations therefore call for an evidence-based approach. The Directive should only be revised if the Commission’s upcoming guidance on environmental permitting demonstrates that a revision is genuinely necessary. If changes are proposed, they must be supported by a thorough impact assessment and remain strictly limited to strategic raw materials mining.
Any revision must also maintain strong safeguards to protect drinking water resources in line with Article 7 of the WFD. EurEau and its members stand ready to engage with EU institutions and stakeholders to find a pragmatic and balanced way forward.
You can read it here.