00:00Pollution, overconsumption, waste. These are the three biggest problems Europeans say they
00:07face with water. But it also includes devastating floods on one hand and the threat of desertification
00:14on the other. According to the European Commission's State of Water Report, the EU's water resources
00:20are under significant pressure.
00:22Less than 40% of our EU surface water bodies achieve good ecological status with healthy
00:30ecosystems being home to many species and with water able to regenerate itself. And
00:37only a quarter achieve good chemical status, meaning that the relevant thresholds of hazardous
00:43substances are not exceeded. Many Member States recognise that this is a big problem. Some
00:49progress has been made over the last years, but there is still a lot of work to do.
00:55The Commissioner said that the EU has directives and recommendations, but their implementation
01:00is not perfect. Therefore, the Executive will initiate a dialogue with various sectoral
01:05representatives as well as with the Member States.
01:09We need to do more to ensure the security of our water supply because citizens need
01:14clean water, farmers and businesses need a stable water supply, and we need to protect
01:20our fresh and marine waters to reduce flood risks. Because the cost of inaction is too
01:26high, knowing the situation will become worse.
01:30Based on the current reports, the European Commission will present an EU water resilience
01:35strategy this spring.
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