EurEau News
EurEau position on the Food and Feed Omnibus
We have published a new position paper on the European Commission’s proposal to simplify and strengthen food and feed safety requirements, which revises the rules for placing pesticides and biocides on the market.
While we welcome some measures, several proposed changes could weaken the protection of drinking water resources. In particular, they risk undermining the objectives of the Water Framework Directive and the requirements of the Drinking Water Directive.
We call on the co-legislators to ensure that the final legislation fully protects drinking water resources and avoids legal uncertainty between the Regulation on Plant Protection Products (“Pesticides Regulation”) and the Drinking Water Directive.
EurEau position on the Commission’s proposal for the simplification of the INSPIRE Directive
The INSPIRE Directive must be consistent with EU legislation aimed at protecting critical entities and vital societal services. The protection of public health and the environment must prevail over the right to access certain spatial data.
Member States should ensure that spatial data relating to infrastructure managed by the sectors listed in the annex to Directive 2022/2557 is not made publicly accessible unless it is confirmed not to be security-relevant.
The limitation applies only to spatial data and not to environmental data.
Our position is here.
EurEau position on the Revision of the Water Framework Directive
Our position paper on the revision of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) will be published on our website and social media tomorrow (Friday 27 March). You will find it here.
Speaking out
On 17 March, Oliver Loebel, EurEau Secretary General, spoke at a meeting with the Norwegian environment minister on the implementation of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD).
Also on 17 March, Oliver Loebel and Paula Lindell, co-chair of our Wastewater Committee, discussed the implementation of extended producer responsibility (EPR) under the UWWTD with Health Commissioner Olivér Varhelyi.
On the same day, Oliver Loebel participated in a Euractiv panel debate on EPR under the UWWTD in Brussels.
Still on 17 March, Arjen Frenz spoke on behalf of Vewin (NL) and EurEau at a European Parliament event hosted by MEP Anna Strolenberg on the Food and Feed Safety Omnibus.
On 18 March, Oliver Loebel co-moderated the closing session of the Strategic Business Workshop on Water under Global Gateway organised by DG INTPA in Brussels.
On 20 March, Oliver Loebel met with the board members of the Dutch drinking water association Vewin in Brussels.
EU news
Water legislation
New WFD revision: Call for Evidence published
The Commission opened a Call for Evidence on 17 March, seeking input for an impact assessment of the upcoming revision of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) announced in December under the RESourceEU Action Plan. The deadline for contributions is 14 April.
The accompanying document indicates that the scope of the revision will focus on removing barriers to the mining of critical raw materials, while protecting the environment and human health. The Commission specifies that the impact assessment will examine, among other issues, the impact on populations located near CRM projects, for instance in terms of drinking water affordability.
We will contribute to the Call for Evidence.
WFD/GWD/EQSD revision: final approval secured
The agreement reached in trilogue in September on revising the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and its daughter directives on priority substances was endorsed by MEPs in the ENVI Committee on 17 March, after which the EP Plenary 26 March is due to sign off on the text without a vote. This marks the final adoption after more than three years of negotiation.
We welcome this long-overdue step bringing clarity to the legal framework as work on the next River Basin Management Plan cycle begins.
Drinking Water Directive: ECHA organises IUCLID demonstration workshop
The ECHA will host a hybrid workshop on 1-2 June 2026 on how to prepare and submit an application for materials in contact with drinking water under the Drinking Water Directive.
The practical workshop will guide participants through the different sections of IUCLID (software used to record, store, maintain and exchange data on the intrinsic and hazard properties of chemical substances) that are relevant for preparing an application and will introduce the new IUCLID application manual.
Registration for joining in-person in Helsinki is open until 10 April 2026.
Drinking Water Directive: ECHA organises stakeholder workshop
The ECHA will host their stakeholder event in Helsinki and online on 21-22 October 2026.
The event will provide an overview of the legal obligations, information requirements and IT tools for applications to add, review or remove starting substances, compositions or constituents from the European positive lists under the Drinking Water Directive.
Registration to join in Helsinki is open until 14 August 2026.
CEN: preliminary work item on leakage
TC164 (Water Supply) of the European Standardisation Committee (CEN) will launch a preliminary work item with a view to provide an overview of methods used to estimate leakage volumes across an entire supply area or specific parts of a supply area, and to detect the location of drinking water leaks in distribution networks.
Water and the environment
Pharmaceuticals: trilogue agreement gets EP SANTE green light
The European Parliament’s public health committee (SANTE) voted on 18 March to endorse the trilogue agreement reached last November on a legislative package reforming reforming how medicines are authorised for sale in the EU.
The agreement, which covers a Directive and a Regulation, preserved most aspects of the original Commission proposal on Environmental Risk Assessments, as well as an EU-wide ban on over-the-counter sales for antimicrobials, as well as medicines containing PBT, PMT, vPvB and vPvM substances (P = Persistent, B = Bioaccumulative, T = Toxic, M = Mobile, v = very).
We welcome this step forward in ensuring that access to medicines goes hand in hand with the protection of water resources, both essential for public health.
PFAS: ECHA inches closer to adoption of restriction proposal
The ECHA Risk Assessment Committee adopted its positon on UPFAS, while the Social and Economic Analysis Committee adopted its provision position.
The 60-day public consultation on the SEAC opinion start on 26 March.
ECHA intends to adopt its restriction proposal to the Commission by the end of 2026.
PFAS: EU court of Auditors examines EU policy on forever chemicals
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) is conducting a performance audit of the EU approach to PFAS. Their three main angles of inquiry concern the EU chemicals legal framework (REACH and POP regulations), the role of EU funding in reducing human exposure to PFAS, and EU food and drink legislation.
ECA invited EurEau to share its experience on 24 March. Prior to this, the ECA had been in contact with several national governments and water associations.
Taxonomy Regulation: enhancing usability of TSC
The Commission opened a feedback period on 17 March (until 14 April) to gather stakeholders views on the draft delegated regulation that will amend the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2139 (the so-called Climate Change Delegated Regulation to the Taxonomy Regulation) as regards enhancing the usability of the technical screening criteria (TSC).
Water and agriculture
Food and feed safety omnibus: EurEau calls for maintaining pesticide rules
The Commission proposal, published in December 2025, will revise several agriculture-related legal acts and weaken the pesticide authorisation rules in Regulation 1107/2009.
In our new position paper we call on the co-legislators not to weaken the protection of drinking water resources. Particularly worrisome are the time-unlimited approval periods for most active substances and the possibility for Member States to disregard the latest scientific knowledge.
Water as an essential service
INSPIRE Directive: EurEau wants better protection of critical infrastructures
In December 2025, the Commission published a proposal as part of the ‘Environmental Omnibus, to simplify the INSPIRE Directive.
In our new position paper, we ask for a clear separation between spatial data and environmental data. Security-relevant spatial data relating to water and wastewater infrastructure should not be made publicly accessible.
Events
14 April 2026 – Brussels, Belgium. MEP Group on ‘Climate Change, Biodiversity, and Sustainable Development’ and EurEau will organise an in-person event entitled Turning the tide — A multi-stakeholder dialogue towards a water resilient Europe, from 11:30 to 13:00 CEST at the European Parliament (Room A3F383). The event is hosted by MEP Dimitris Tsiodras (EPP, Greece). Register here.
5 May 2026 – Brussels, Belgium. The Parliament’s Circular Economy Forum 2026. Register.
8-9 June 2026 – Madrid, Spain. Implementation of EU UWWTD Directive art. 20 – workshop on defining EU sewage phosphorus; reuse and recycling rates. https://www.phosphorusplatform.eu/WorkshopMadridArt20
17 June 2026 – Brussels, Belgium. DWD Symposium on drinking water contact materials, co-hosted by EurEau, EDW and European Metals. Register.
23-27 August 2026 – World Water Week 2026. Read the thematic scope for 2026.
16-18 September 2026 – Svenskt Vatten hosts the NORDIWA Nordic Drinking Water Conference in Stockholm. You can visit the conference website: NORDIWA: Home.
4-8 October 2026 – IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition 2026, Glasgow, UK.
18–20 November 2026 – EBC annual benchmarking workshop, Madrid, Spain. www.waterbenchmark.org.