The European Commission wants to improve the quality of drinking water in Europe in light of the latest scientific advice and ensure that all EU citizens have access to clean, safe water. To do this, it proposed on Thursday 1 February to revise the European drinking water directive, which was adopted in 1998 (see EUROPE 11951).
The proposal comprises four elements: improved standards for the safety of water; a risk-based water safety assessment in the entire EU; an obligation on member states to improve access to water for all; improved transparency of information to consumers on the availability of water services in their local area.
Through this long-awaited legislative proposal, the Commission is also responding – as far as it is able within its powers – to the very first European citizens’ initiative, Right2Water, through which more than 1.6 million EU citizens called for legislation implementing the human right to water and sanitation as recognised by the United Nations.
European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans who has responsibility for Sustainable Development, made this point in presenting the Commission proposal to the press.
The Commission, he said, is committed to sustainability. “It wants to adapt the directive to citizens’ expectations. That was the theme of the first European citizens’ initiative. This proposal is based on the new European Pillar of Social Rights and will help towards realisation of sustainable development goal 6”, he said.
The European Pillar of Social Rights includes the principle that “everyone has the right to access essential services of good quality, including water (and) sanitation”. The proposal to revise the drinking water directive reflects this principle with a new provision that requires member states to improve access to water for all and ensure access to those belonging to vulnerable and marginalised groups who are not linked to public water distribution services.
In the EU, 23 million people are in this case, Timmermans stated. Yet, water is not recognised as a fundamental right, limiting the Commission’s scope, he pointed out. That is why, in the proposal, the Commission, he said, is encouraging restaurants, canteens and other food outlets in the member states to provide tap water free of charge but is not forcing them.
Most citizens have access to the clean, safe water that is crucial to their health. That is the result of 30 years of success, stated Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella. However, he went on, there are new substances with emerging risks, whether pathogenic bacteria or contaminants. Eighteen new or revised parameters have been included in the list of criteria for determining whether water is safe. The parameter values will be in line with WHO recommendations.
By encouraging the drinking of safe tap water and proposing to provide all citizens with the online information they need to learn of the availability of water-related services in their area, the Commission estimates that in total, European households could save more than €600 million per year. Good for their purse but also for the environment, in terms of reduced plastic waste. Microplastics are also covered by the proposed text: regular monitoring of the water collected for drinking water so that mitigation measures can be taken where necessary.
The Commission’s proposal is, in Vella’s view, the first legislative initiative implementing the EU strategy on plastics, recently proposed to speed up the shift to a circular economy (see EUROPE 11941, 11940). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)