The National Ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) were informed on Wednesday 9 October of the results of the first inter-institutional negotiation meeting held on Monday evening, 7 October, on the revision of the Drinking Water Directive, with a view of improving tap water safety and ensuring safe water for all, in response to the Right2water citizens' initiative.
Parliament's negotiators, led by Christophe Hansen (EPP, Luxembourg) and the Finnish Presidency of the EU Council, assisted by the Commission, were able to present their respective positions on the revision of this 1998 Directive (see EUROPE 12335/23).
"This first trilogue took place in a very good atmosphere. Both sides have expressed their willingness to reach an agreement under the Finnish Presidency", a source told EUROPE.
According to the EU Council, which issued its opinion in March 2019 (see EUROPE 12207/2), water quality parameters are the most important thing. Member States consider that they have acquired a great deal of expertise, many of them having legislation that goes further than the Directive. In particular, they would like to avoid touching too much on the new Article 10a on minimum hygiene standards for materials and products coming into contact with water.
Parliament is very demanding in terms of public health, but also in terms of access to water, particularly for marginalised populations and transparency of consumer information (see EUROPE 12224/6, 12123/3).
The Parliament and the EU Council agreed to make as much progress as possible at technical level on the most difficult issues.
According to the provisional timetable, the next trilogue meeting would take place on 22 October (in Strasbourg), the third trilogue on 19 November, and the fourth on 3 December. Parliament would like a fifth date to be adopted.
It is likely that the European Commissioner for the Environment, Karmenu Vella, will have completed his mandate before an agreement is reached. It will be up to his successor to take over when the von der Leyen Commission is in office. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)