Will a new strategy improve European water management?
One third of the EU is affected by water scarcity and with water pollution and high demand for water, more investment and innovation is needed. We look at the pros and cons of the proposals in the new European Water Resilience Strategy.
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00:00A third of the EU is affected by water scarcity.
00:18Water pollution and wastewater are also major concerns,
00:22which are being addressed at this water-purifying unit.
00:25Climate change and high demand of water for economic use require investment and better implementation of legislation.
00:34To try and address all the above, the European Commission has released a new water resilience strategy.
00:40Let's find out more on EU Decoded.
00:43Only 37% of the EU's surface waters have a good ecological status and only 29% have a good chemical status.
00:51The continent is the fastest warming region in the world due to climate change,
00:56which has increased the number of water-related natural disasters.
00:59Currently, 30% of the EU suffers from water scarcity due to prolonged droughts.
01:05Meanwhile, devastating floods cost 325 billion euros in damage between 1980 and 2023.
01:13The European Water Resilience Strategy aims to reduce water pollution, prevent waste and make water accessible to all.
01:21With this strategy, the European Commission promises to help member states better implement the 2000 Water Framework Directive and 3 related laws.
01:32Let's hear what Europeans think about the public management of this precious common good.
01:38The European Commission can work a lot when it comes to the consumption.
01:43Every year we can say that we can say that from one or two storms in the winter,
01:48but if there are not these, we will certainly face a problem.
01:52And there is a great possibility of falling a large percentage of our consumption.
01:57I hope that my children still have enough water,
02:01and sweet water, to get to live.
02:05So, I think it has to do with the level of pollution,
02:08and to manage the pollution that exists in the water,
02:11and to talk with the people who treat water with these companies.
02:16Euronews reporter Amandine S. will help us decode this issue.
02:21One of the main topics that the European Commission wants to address is water pollution,
02:26particularly with chemicals called PFAS or Forever Pollutants.
02:31What is at stake?
02:32So PFAS are substances dubbed forever pollutants because they don't easily break down,
02:37so they tend to accumulate over time in the environment.
02:40And the problem is that research has shown that exposure to certain types of PFAS causes serious health problems.
02:48So the Commission is planning to launch a public-private partnership to support innovation,
02:53to clean up pollution from PFAS and other chemicals.
02:57The polluter pays principle would be applied,
03:00so it means that public funding would be used only for the sites where it has not been possible to identify who is responsible for the pollution.
03:08Industry and agriculture are two sectors that use a lot of fresh water,
03:13and also contribute to water pollution with chemicals.
03:16So will the strategy address those problems?
03:21When it comes to water quantity, the Commission is calling member states to improve water efficiency by at least 10% by 2030.
03:29So, for instance, in the agriculture sector, water efficiency could be improved through precision farming, drip irrigation, water reuse,
03:38or by using more climate-resistant crops according to the strategy.
03:43And when it comes to the industry, the Commission is, for instance, looking at the water consumption of data centers,
03:48and it's also planning to launch another public-private partnership to develop innovative methods for dry cooling.
03:58NGOs and Europe's Green Party say that this strategy is far from giving concrete answers to the problems.
04:05What are they suggesting to be done?
04:07So it's important to keep in mind that the Greens and some NGOs have criticised this strategy
04:12for lacking clear legal requirements since it is non-binding and for not providing dedicated funding.
04:20So that's one point.
04:21Second, they are stressing that it fails to tackle pollution at source.
04:25So they are calling for strict management of fertilizers and chemicals.
04:30According to the European Commission, around 55 billion euros is spent on water investments across Europe,
04:37but there is an annual gap of 23 billion euros to solve the problems.
04:41To address this gap, the EU's executive will allocate the larger share of the cohesion funds,
04:47which are intended for less wealthy regions, to water management.
04:51In addition, the European Investment Bank will launch a new program.
04:5515 billion euros will be available over the period between 2025 and 2027,
05:01and it aims to attract a further 25 billion euros from commercial investors.
05:06Our guest is Hildegard Bentele from the centre-right EPP Group,
05:11who shares the MEP Water Group at the European Parliament.
05:15Welcome to Euronews.
05:16One of the few concrete aspects of the European Water Resilience Strategy is increasing investment
05:24through the cohesion funds and the European Investment Bank.
05:28Will that money be enough?
05:30Well, we'll see, because the negotiations for the budget have just started.
05:35So it's important to have the priorities here.
05:37And everybody knows about the emergency and about the needs of investment into the sector.
05:45We have the figures so we can react with the budget and better use, as you said, the cohesion policy,
05:51because we have seen that funds have not been used even for investment.
05:57So we have to think about it.
05:59The European Commission proposes voluntary targets to improve water efficiency by 10% by 2030.
06:06But there is not a roadmap or an implementation mechanism foreseen.
06:12So isn't this just good intentions?
06:14It is a good intention and it's also, I would say, a little bit modest,
06:18because 10% is not a lot.
06:20But at least it's on the agenda.
06:22And I think we can do more also, for example, through public procurement.
06:27If we prescribe that water efficient technologies have to be used, we have to take it serious,
06:33because it's the cheapest way to save money is to become more efficient.
06:39But first of all, we have to become more transparent,
06:42because people don't know how much water they waste, how much water they use in their households.
06:47Should also more concrete measures be foreseen and even sanctions for less proactive member states
06:54in terms of preventing and recovering from water-related disasters, whether droughts or floods.
07:04We have, for example, the Water Framework Directive, and this is legislation.
07:08If you do not comply with legislation, we could sanction there,
07:11because if member states don't meet the targets of legislation, they should be sanctioned.
07:15And we have a backlog.
07:17We haven't seen a lot of progress in the last 20 years, so we have to become faster.
07:22And I would also see that the Commission is getting more rigid on that in the coming years, also with the strategy.
07:28The European Commission is focusing on improving infrastructure and technological innovation,
07:35but environmentalists say that we need to protect nature more.
07:39They suggest that water management should include protection of moors and wetlands,
07:45as well as reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides.
07:49EU Decoded will continue to follow water protection efforts in Europe.
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