Brussels, 04/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - Water is “a shared resource of humankind and a public good” and “access to water should constitute a fundamental and universal right”, says the European Parliament (EP) environment committee in a report adopted unanimously on 30 May. The report, on “implementation of EU water legislation ahead of a necessary overall approach to European water issues”, is a plea for efficient use of water resources and a catalogue of the measures needed for success in this goal. The committee, agreeing with its rapporteur Richard Seeber (EPP, Austria), urges the Commission to help member states implement the water framework directive and to take action against those who infringe it. It stresses the need for an audit of on the state of the European water supply network given that leaks cause as much as 70% of the water supplied to European cities to be lost, and to encourage infrastructure investment. The committee notes, too, that about 20% of water in the EU is lost because of inefficiency.
The Commission and member states are called on to use pricing schemes to apply the “polluter pays” and “user pays” principles. However, when setting water tariffs, account should be taken of the social implications.
The MEPs on the committee would like to see a revision of subsidies which have a negative effect on water and call for EU funding granted to water sector or water intensive activities to be conditional on water management plans being in place. They call on the Commission encourage businesses to use materials that use less water by supporting R&D and providing structural funds in areas where the resources is at its scarcest. Water savings must be achieved in those sectors of activity which are high consumers of energy and in agriculture, by means of innovative technology, the MEPs say. Efforts made so far by farmers to improve groundwater quality must also be recognised, they say. Water use should be taken into account when assessing the sustainability of traditional as well as low-carbon energy sources.
The committee says that environmentally and economically sound water sanitation and waste water management policy should tackle pollution at source and encourage wider use of waste water. Water metering should be made compulsory across all sectors and users, it argues. The MEPs would like the blue flag scheme that indicates water quality on beaches to be extended to all bathing areas in Europe, including rivers and lakes.
The European Commission is currently preparing a “Blueprint to safeguard Europe's water resources”, which, it is hoped, will be ready by November. This blueprint will set out existing weaknesses and future priorities, and will propose measures to inform the preparation of water policy until 2020. It will be based on a model integrating economic and climatic modelling for the period up to 2050. (AN/transl.rt)