Water: What is the EU doing?

Water

What is the EU doing?

European water policy is made up of one key piece of legislation, the Water Framework Directive which was adopted in 2000. It provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to restore Europe’s rivers, lakes and wetlands to good ecological health by 2015.

The Directive is a departure from the more fragmented approach to water policy before 2000 and introduces a number of important new elements: strong public participation requirements; ecological objectives; the integration of environmental and resource costs into economic decision-making; incentive pricing; and redefining water quality to include changes in structure. It also commits national governments to produce River Basin Management Plans including a programme of measures by 2009.

The Directive is complemented by a set of older so called ‘daughter Directives’ on ground water, priority substances (chemicals to phase out), bathing water; nitrates (from agriculture), urban waste water, and drinking water.

Of these the Directive on priority substances is of special importance. It sets environmental quality standards for a number of hazardous substances which define the Water Framework Directive’s objective for ‘good chemical status ’. In this way it provides the link between the EU’s chemical and water policies.

Please see the European Commission’s website on EU water policy:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/index_en.htm

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