Non-conclusive progress was made on Tuesday 12 November in inter-institutional negotiations on the proposal for an EU regulation establishing minimum quality requirements for the safe reuse of urban waste water for agricultural irrigation.
After the inaugural trilogue on 10 October, the European Parliament negotiators, led by Simona Bonafè (S&D, Italy), and those of the EU Council, assisted by the Commission, got to the heart of the matter this time, addressing in particular the scope of the Regulation and the possibility of an opt out for the Member States.
"We are making good progress, but there are still important points to clarify, so we will have three or four technical meetings and a working group meeting before the third trilogue, scheduled for the evening of December 2. We hope it could be the last", said one source on Tuesday. The National Ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) will be informed of the results of this second trilogue on Friday 15 November.
The technical work will be aimed at making as much progress as possible on the least difficult subjects, the most tricky being the following:
Scope of application. The European Parliament wants urban waste water reuse to go beyond agricultural irrigation alone. According to the EU Council, we should confine ourselves to agricultural irrigation, leaving Member States free to go further. The idea that such waste water could, for example, be recycled to provide tap water, as is the case in Singapore, is politically unthinkable for the EU Council at this stage. The Commission, for its part, is flexible, even though it is convinced that water safety can be ensured.
Possibility of opt-out. As some Member States are sceptical about the safety of recycled water for human health, the EU Council does not consider this issue a priority. It is ready to move forward, provided that no country is forced to adopt these rules, knowing that those who wish to do so already have their own rules and that all will be able to do so one day, if they are faced with water shortages. Most Member States would first like to acquire experience in this field. The European Parliament and the Commission want uniform rules for all from now on, it being understood that climate change will affect everyone (see EUROPE 12192/2).
Risk management. While the Commission wants to record the responsibility of water recovery operators in the event of possible contamination of the resource, the EU Council is in favour of flexibility for each Member State to be able to establish who is responsible, given that, as a last resort, responsibility lies with the State.
For the third trilogue, it will be necessary for the Finnish Presidency to have a revised negotiating mandate. The working group will assess the Member States' level of interest on 18 November, before Coreper prepares this revised mandate on 27 November. However, there is little room for manoeuvre, as it was so difficult to find a general approach for the EU Council (see EUROPE 12283/9). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)