In a joint press release issued on Wednesday 19 June, three non-governmental organisations, WWF, EEB and Pan Europe, reacted to the adoption by the Council of the European Union of a position on the directive on substances to be monitored as a priority in water (see EUROPE 13435/8).
The weakening of existing environmental standards and the extension to 2039 of the deadline for “reaching compliance on proposed new pollution standards” (glyphosate, a group of PFAS, pharmaceutical products) have led the three NGOs to say that the agreement gives “EU countries the right to pollute rather than protect our water”. “Pushing action on water pollution into the future will only make it more difficult and costly to deal with”, warned Sara Johansson, Policy Officer for Water Pollution Prevention at the European Environmental Bureau (EEB).
The position adopted by the Council risks “harm to citizens by actively watering down the Water Framework Directive”, says Claire Baffert, head of water policy at WWF.
The three NGOs are still counting on the forthcoming negotiations with the Commission and Parliament. (Original version in French by Florent Servia)