The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) regrets the decision by the European Commission not to update the Water Framework Directive in the fitness check on this directive and the Floods Directive published in December 2019 (see EUROPE 12389/14).
Not all objectives have been fully achieved due to inadequate funding, slow implementation, and insufficient integration of environmental objectives in sectoral policies, the CoR noted in a draft opinion presented on Wednesday 1 July as part of a debate on the European Green Deal.
Rapporteur Piotr Całbecki (EPP, Poland) said he was “deeply disappointed”. He believes that the failure to revise the Framework Directive will undermine the EU’s ‘zero pollution’ objective and the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals.
In particular, he proposes the urgent implementation of innovative tools in order to achieve good ecological status in European river basins, such as nature-based ecohydrological solutions.
It calls for a ban on glyphosate and a common agricultural policy that supports an end to the use of pesticides. The draft opinion emphasised the notion that pollution must be dealt with at source, which implies ensuring the full application of the ‘polluter pays’ principle.
It urged the Commission to strengthen the enforcement of legal obligations relating to water pollution, including those relating to microplastics and pharmaceuticals.
The opinion is expected to be adopted at the current CoR plenary session. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)