Javíthatja-e egy új stratégia az európai vízgazdálkodást?
Az EU egyharmada vízhiánnyal küszködik, és a vízszennyezés és a nagy vízigény miatt több beruházásra és innovációra van szükség. Megvizsgáljuk az új európai vízügyi rezilienciára vonatkozó stratégia előnyeit és hátrányait.
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 information can be used to work a lot when it comes to production.
01:43Every year, we can say, from one or two storms in the winter,
01:48if there are not these, we will certainly face problems.
01:52And there is a great possibility that a large percentage of our business is falling.
01:57I hope that my parents still have enough water and sweet water to be able to live.
02:04I think it has to do with the level of pollution,
02:07and more likely to manage the pollution that exists in the water,
02:11and also talk to 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. What 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
03:04where 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.
03:17So will the strategy address those problems?
03:21So when it comes to water quantity,
03:23the Commission is calling Member States to improve water efficiency by at least 10% by 2030.
03:29So for instance, in the agriculture sector,
03:32water efficiency could be improved through precision farming, drip irrigation,
03:37water reuse, or by using more climate-resistant crops according to the strategy.
03:43And when it comes to the industry, the Commission is, for instance,
03:46looking at the water consumption of data centers,
03:49and it's also planning to launch another public-private partnership
03:53to 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 criticized this strategy
04:13for lacking clear legal requirements since it is non-binding and for not providing dedicated funding.
04:19So that's one point.
04:20Second, they are stressing that it fails to tackle pollution at source.
04:25So they are calling for strict management of fertilizers and chemicals.
04:29According to the European Commission,
04:31around 55 billion euros is spent on water investments across Europe,
04:36but there's an annual gap of 23 billion euros to solve the problems.
04:40To address this gap, the EU's executive will allocate a larger share of the cohesion funds,
04:46which are intended for less wealthy regions, to water management.
04:50In addition, the European Investment Bank will launch a new program.
04:5415 billion euros will be available over the period between 2025 and 2027,
05:00and it aims to attract a further 25 billion euros from commercial investors.
05:05Our guest is Hildegard Bentele from 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
05:22is increasing investment through 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.
05:38And 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,
05:50the cohesion policy, because we have seen that funds have not been...
06:00...efficiency by 10% by 2030, but there is not a roadmap or an implementation mechanism foreseen,
06:10so isn't this just good intentions?
06:13It is a good intention, and it's also, I would say, a little bit modest,
06:16because 10% is not a lot, but at least it's on the agenda.
06:21And I think we can do more also, for example, through public procurement.
06:26If we prescribe that water-efficient technologies have to be used,
06:30we have to take it serious, because it's the cheapest way to save money
06:36is to become more efficient.
06:38But first of all, we have to become more transparent,
06:40because people don't know how much water they waste,
06:43how much water they use in their households.
06:46Should also more concrete measures be foreseen,
06:49and even sanctions for less proactive member states,
06:53in terms of preventing and recovering from water-related disasters,
06:59whether droughts or floods.
07:02We have, for example, the Water Framework Directive,
07:05and this is legislation.
07:06If you do not comply with legislation, we could sanction there,
07:09because if member states don't meet the targets of legislation,
07:12they should be sanctioned.
07:14And we have a backlog.
07:16We haven't seen a lot of progress in the last 20 years,
07:18so we have to become faster.
07:20And I would also see that the Commission is getting more rigid on that
07:24in the coming years, also with the strategy.
07:27The European Commission is focusing on improving infrastructure
07:31and technological innovation,
07:33but environmentalists say that we need to protect nature more.
07:37They suggest that water management should include protection of moors and wetlands,
07:43as well as reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides.
07:47EU Decoded will continue to follow water protection efforts in Europe.
