EEB

Press Release

Report: EU water policy doing little to improve cleanliness

[Brussels, 9th July 2010]

Days before hundreds of thousands of people across Europe demonstrate their support for clean rivers and lakes at the ‘Big Jump 2010’ [1], a new report published by environmental group EEB, Europe’s largest federation of environmental citizens’ organisations, reveals that European governments are doing very little to protect and restore Europe’s waters [2].
 
The report, “10 years of Water Framework Directive: a toothless tiger?”, provides an insight into the low level of ambition countries have for implementing plans to improve the state of rivers and lakes. Based on eight river management plans around Europe, it was discovered that despite eight years of preparation and planning there appears to be little improvement forecast in the coming years. The findings revealed River Basin Management Plans - national plans for protecting and improving water - are showing little or minimal success.
 
Indeed, many of the plans delay any improvements until 2027, suggesting a widespread abuse of the exemptions the law provides. “This is unacceptable given how important water is to our livelihood and how we’re still polluting it”, said Pieter de Pous, Senior Water Policy Officer.
 
Worse still, these minimal improvements are often offset by damaging developments taking place in other areas such as agriculture, transport and energy generation. The way Europe’s Water Framework Directive is now being implemented is likely to fail to bring European waters to decent ecological standard fast enough.
 
Based on the findings, the EEB is calling on governments and water management authorities to adopt new measures in addition to what is foreseen in the published River Basin Management Plans.
 
Pieter de Pous said: “Pollution and waste from agriculture are one of the best known, studied and discussed problems affecting the state of our waters, yet instead of proposing effective new measures most water managers have chosen to simply pass the buck, be it to other countries or authorities or to future generations.”
 
With Europe simmering in the summer heat people will turn en masse to their rivers and lakes to cool down. However, a lot more will need to be done to ensure that these people will find their rivers and lakes full of clean water. 
 
Read the report 
 
 
For more info contact: 
 
Pieter de Pous, EEB Senior Water Policy Officer, +32 (0) 2 289 1306
 
 
Notes to the editor: 
 
[1] On July 11 at 15.00 PM, hundreds of thousands of Europeans will simultaneously jump into Europe’s major rivers and lakes, all at the same time on the same day, showing their support for protecting and improving the health of Europe’s water. The Big Jump is a huge, wet wake up call that people from all across Europe want their rivers and lakes back in a clean, healthy state. In 2005, 250,000 people from all corners of Europe took part in this action, and 2010 promises to be an even bigger event. More info at:  www.bigjump.org 
 
[2] According to governments’ own assessments, on average less than half of Europe’s waters are in a ‘good status’. Under the EU’s Water Framework Directive governments committed themselves to restore their waters by 2015. The plans and the measures with which they are meant to do this were due to be finalised by December 2009. Now halfway through 2010, only 14 member states have published their plans with especially the Mediterranean member states looking at serious delays. An overview of the state of implementation is provided by a Commission implementation report and can be found at:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-framework/implrep2007/index_en.htm#first