Outcomes of the European Parliament ENVI Committee Meeting on Water Resilience Strategy
The ENVI Committee of the European Parliament held a crucial discussion on January 27, 2025, focusing on Europe’s pressing water challenges and the development of a comprehensive Water Resilience Strategy (WRS). MEP Bajada presented the six pillars of its report for the resolution on the Water Resilience Strategy: efficiency, pollution control at the source, climate adaptation, financing, innovation, and cross-border cooperation.
Key Points stressed by the experts and the members of the European Parliament:
- Legislative Initiatives: A call for a drought directive and binding efficiency targets was made to mitigate the EU’s increasing water scarcity challenges.
- Nature-Based Solutions (NBS): Experts advocated for NBS to increase water availability, enhance forest ecosystems, and tackle pollution through upstream solutions, particularly in agriculture.
- Sectoral Synergies: The need to align the WRS with sectoral policies, including agriculture, industry, and biodiversity strategies, was emphasized to ensure sustainable water governance.
- Innovation and Digitalisation: The importance of digital monitoring systems to detect leaks and ensure water efficiency was highlighted, alongside the role of innovative agricultural practices to reduce water consumption.
- Funding Framework: Participants stressed the necessity for ambitious financing mechanisms within the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), blending public and private investments with conditionalities for water resilience projects.
- Addressing PFAS Pollution: Reducing PFAS concentration, which affects 71% of EU waters, is critical to achieving the objectives of the Water Framework Directive (WFD).
- Cross-Border Coordination: Effective cooperation among Member States was urged to implement preventive measures and manage shared water resources efficiently.
- Source-to-Sea Approach: The connection between the WRS andthe Ocean Pact to restore water cycles and enhance free-flowing rivers was mentioned.
Ms Bentele, chairman of the MEP Water Group stressed also the importance to consider water reuse and efficiency in buildings as well as the importance to include a section on digitalisation in the resolution of the European Parliament that should be presented in the Committee Environment mid-February.
Lastly Veronica Manfredi, Director Zero Pollution, Directorate General Environment announced that the Call for Evidence is expected to be published on February 4, 2025.
