‍‍EurEau news

EurEau joins the European Raw Material Alliance (ERMA)

EurEau joined the initiative to promote the sustainable recovery of phosphorous from waste water and attended the kick-off meeting of the platform on 23 November 2020. Read more...

Speaking out – EurEau meets stakeholders

It was a busy month for speaking events, and we spoke at several, covering climate change, pollutants and the UWWTD. Read more…  

‍EU news

Legislative developments

Water legislation

Drinking Water Directive update: adopted by the Council of the EU

Following the adoption by the Council of the EU on Friday 23 October of the new Drinking Water Directive text, the final vote by the European Parliament Plenary is provisionally scheduled to take place on 14 December. The entry into force is foreseen in early 2021.

UWWTD review: conference on sensitive areas, eutrophication and micropollutants

EurEau and a wide group of its experts attended the conference on sensitive areas, eutrophication and micropollutants hosted jointly by the German Presidency and the European Commission on 26-27 November. More... 

Sewage Sludge Directive: public consultation launched

On the sewage sludge front, the public consultation has been launched on Friday 20 November.

Water and agriculture

Common Agricultural Policy: EU institutions launch Trilogue

Discussions continue on the next CAP. Read more on our reaction.

Water and the environment

Sustainable finance: proposed requirements threaten water investments

Sustainable investments are key to a green future and should be supported. More...

Energy directives: Commission launches public consultations

The Commission launched the public consultations on the Renewable Energy Directive and the Energy Efficiency Directive, both of which set targets for the transformation of Europe’s energy production and consumption. The revision should support the EU on its greenhouse gas reduction pathway starting from the energy efficiency first principle.

WFD and the daughter directives

EurEau submitted the answer to the Inception Impact Assessment concerning this initiative that can be found here. More... 

Industrial Emissions Directive: Evaluation report published

Aside from the roadmap on the revision of E-PRTR (European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register), the evaluation report of the Industrial Emission Directive (IED) has been published. You can find the report here. And read more...

EU Nature Restoration targets

The European Commission published an inception impact assessment on the EU nature restoration targets following up to the Biodiversity Strategy published earlier this year. This roadmap will lead to a legislative proposal in Q4 2021 and builds on the results of the WFD fitness check.

More information can be found here.

EurEau submitted feedback. The final deadline is 2 December. 

‍EU strategies

‍Farm-to-Fork Strategy: Parliament prepare a resolution

The European Parliament started its work on a resolution on the Commission’s Farm-to-Fork strategy, which aims to create a sustainable food value chain.

EurEau’s position on this strategy is available here.

Zero Pollution: action plan on water, air, soil

The Commission released a public consultation on the Zero Pollution Action Plan that will be open for feedback until the 10 February 2021. The questionnaire and all the relevant information are available here.

The action plan should be published by the European Commission in Q2 2021.

Pharmaceuticals in the environment: implementation progress

The European Commission published an overview of the progress made in implementing the actions of the Strategic Approach to Pharmaceuticals in the Environment.

Pharmaceuticals: Commission publishes strategy for Europe

This strategy aims to tackle the issues facing the pharmaceutical sector by setting a regulatory framework for the future and promoting research that meets patient needs. It will also take into account the weaknesses exposed by the coronavirus pandemic and factor-in appropriate actions to strengthen the system. We reacted on Wednesday.

New Soil Strategy

The European Commission released the roadmap on the New Soil Strategy - healthy soil for a healthy life. The objective is to design a comprehensive and coherent policy framework to protect land and soil. More...

‍Communications news

‍Farm 2 Fork Strategy and the water sector: Read all about it!

The Farm to Fork Strategy is at the heart of the Green Deal. It is a golden opportunity for the EU to address the challenges of sustainable food systems and build links between healthy people, healthy societies and a healthy planet. Oliver Loebel wrote about the EU’s Farm 2 Fork Strategy in European Files.

Publication: overview of the public water and waste water services in France

BIPE-FP2E are pleased to deliver the seventh edition of the BIPE-FP2E 2019 survey, an overview of public water and wastewater services in France. 

Containing key figures and objective analysis on the status of water resources, consequences of climate change, trends in governance, investment, service performances and prices, waste water reuse, water sector economics, actors and social facts, it gives an insight to the French model of water management.

Publications: investment, investment needs and Covid-19

Our Spanish colleagues have published three reports in English on various topics.

Two reports related to investment in water infrastructure. Although the reports are based on the Spanish situation, some aspects can be extrapolated to almost any other country in the EU, with some messages and conclusions to learn from.

Analysis of renewal investment needs of the urban water cycle in Spain

Moving towards a more efficient financing of urban water cycle infrastructures in Spain.

The third report is on the role of the sector in the post-COVID-19 recovery:

The urban water sector as a vehicle for sustainable recovery post COVID-19.

Competition: where is Sweden’s best water?

Sweden just conducted their fourth tap water competition, to find the best tap water in the country. And the winner is ...