The European Union and China have agreed to strengthen environmental cooperation, in particular on water, with a bilateral water policy dialogue being established.
A memorandum of understanding was signed by European Environment, Marine Affairs and Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella and Chinese Minister of Water Resources Chen Lei on Thursday 21 September on the sidelines of the annual high-level conference of the China Europe Water Platform (CEWP), in Turku, Finland, on 21-22 September.
Policy dialogue is of the highest importance, Vella underlined, stating that “climate change, pollution, increasing demand and wastage have put pressures (on water) like never before. We are showing that a global problem needs global action”. With the signing of the memorandum of understanding, the EU and China are, he said, “demonstrating our commitment to jointly address common water challenges”.
Less than a year ago, in October 2016, the EU and India signed a similar memorandum of understanding on sustainable water management (see EUROPE 11642). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)