Our Publications

In light of the growing emergence of man-made and natural threats, as well as the EU and Member States efforts to ensure resilience of services that are essential for sustaining vital societal and economic functions, we welcome the Commission’s intent to propose a Union Prevention, Preparedness and Response Plan for Health Crises and advise to take into consideration also the water services’ role in this respect.  

This joint statement by 42 organisations calls on EU policymakers to ensure chemical transparency and traceability in products as part of the transition to a clean and circular economy. It highlights the risks of hazardous substances to recycling, water services, public health, and competitiveness, urging strong implementation of existing strategies and regulations.

This paper examines the financing of micropollutant removal under the EU’s recast Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD), which introduces an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme. Since pharmaceuticals and cosmetics are identified as major sources of micropollutants in urban wastewater, their producers will be required to cover at least 80% of the associated treatment costs. The paper highlights that this approach reflects the polluter-pays principle, helps protect water affordability for citizens, and ensures that both EU and non-EU producers contribute equally to the cost burden.

A well-functioning water sector is increasingly becoming a matter of concern in ensuring security and preparedness in the EU. EurEau calls on the Commission to mainstream this aspect in all relevant horizontal policies. This should also apply to the future revision of the INSPIRE Directive, which, in its current Article 13, allows for the exclusion of utility facilities, such as sewage and water supply, from its scope.

A well-functioning water sector is increasingly becoming a matter of concern in ensuring security and preparedness in the EU. EurEau calls on the Commission to mainstream this aspect in all relevant horizontal policies. This should also apply to the future revision of the INSPIRE Directive, which, in its current Article 13, allows for the exclusion of utility facilities, such as sewage and water supply, from its scope.

Given the escalating pressures on water resources, aggravated by the combined impacts of climate change, pollution, rising demand, and security threats and while acknowledging the expanding financial gap the water sector needs to bridge only to ensure compliance with the (updated) sectoral EU acquis, funding for water needs to be commensurately ramped up and appropriately tailored under the next MFF in order to ensure the Member States are able to effectively absorb it.

Water is increasingly becoming a matter of security and preparedness in the EU. The water-security nexus should be understood in terms of the need to ensure the water supply and sanitation infrastructure is protected against large-scale crises. Water resilience in this regard is paramount for ensuring societal and economic stability, as stressed in the Niinistö report. The next MFF should ensure adequate financial support for implementing the measures put in place at Member States level, in line with national priorities, intended for tackling potential civil or military emergencies undermining the water sector.

The scope of the evaluation is to assess whether the objectives of the directives have been achieved with regard to ensuring the efficient use of public funds, high level of competition in the single market, and transparency and integrity of public spending. The directives were also expected to contribute to making Europe a more green, social and innovative economy, increase SMEs’ participation in procurement procedures, reduce the administrative burden related to procurement procedures, simplify them and make more flexible. Efficient use of public funds for provision of goods and services in the water sector is key for the EurEau members to be able to ensure supply of drinking water and collection and treatment of wastewater in accordance with the highest possible standards.