Brussels, 30/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - The future of European water reserves - a common good which is becoming more and more scarce - can only be ensured by means of an integrated approach, mobilising all the policies of the European Union in favour of water protection. On the basis of this observation, the Environment Ministers of the 27 meeting in Gödöllõ for an informal Council (EUROPE10344) are calling for the implementation of an integrated water policy, which defines medium and short-term objectives and responds to new challenges, chief amongst these being climate change.
This debate on a subject which is close to the heart of the Hungarian Presidency lays the foundation stones for a ministerial contribution to the general sectorial policy report of the European Commission on a “Blueprint to Safeguard Europe's Water Resources”, which is expected for 2012, as the framework directive prescribes. The formal conclusions on the sustainable management of water, which the Hungarian Presidency will try to have adopted in June, will constitute the formal contribution of the Environment Council at this critical moment for European water policy.
The exchange of views among ministers focused on the role water has to play in other policies of the Union, on the problems faced by the exercise of integrating water policy into other policies and possibilities for better use of the financial resources available in favour of the water sector in the framework of the multi-annual budgets.
Aware of the growing multiplicity of extreme hydrological phenomena (floods, droughts) due to extreme meteorological conditions, the 27 stated that they must prepare for this by using ecological solutions rather than investing in infrastructure. They argue that a paradigm change is also needed: it must be accepted that floods are part of nature, and rather than fighting them, we must adapt to them.
The ministers take the view that water policy requires a cleaner common agriculture policy and argue for a tightening up the environmental objectives of the CAP. A number of ministers stressed that an integrated water policy would call for inter-state collaboration within the Union.
The 27 also said that water management should also be present within the development cooperation of the Union. On the sidelines of the informal Council, Mercedes Bresso, President of the Committee of the Regions, stressed the importance of involving the local and regional authorities in sustainable development programmes, particularly sustainable water management. (A.N./transl.fl)