On Wednesday 4 December, MEPs decided to begin interinstitutional negotiations (trilogues) on the protection of groundwater against pollution and on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy. 71 MEPs voted in favour, 2 against and 8 abstained.
Javi Lopez (S&D, Spanish) will represent the institution in negotiations with the Council of the EU. The European Parliament’s proposal aims to revise the lists of pollutants that must be monitored and controlled (see EUROPE 13211/27). It updates the Water Framework Directive and two associated directives (the Groundwater Directive and the Surface Water Directive).
MEPs want microplastics, antimicrobial-resistant micro-organisms and certain antimicrobial resistance genes to be added to the list of pollutants, as well as potentially sulphates, xanthates and non-relevant pesticide metabolites. They also want to see a subset of specific PFAS as well as the total PFAS.
According to MEPs, this monitoring list should be regularly updated to take new scientific evidence into account. The Council of the EU has also deemed this necessary (see EUROPE 13431/8), but is calling for the updating process to be carried out by ordinary legislative procedure rather than by delegated act. In this way, the European Commission will not be able to override the will of the Member States.
However, the negotiating mandate adopted by the Council of the EU has reduced the scope of groundwater substances identified as being of concern at national level, and has set EU-wide values for synthetic substances only.
The reintroduction of the twenty-year deadline for phasing out priority hazardous substances – which Milan Brglez (S&D, Slovenian), the text's original rapporteur, had made a priority – was supported by the Member States. According to the Slovenian MEP, any phasing out process was only possible within a specific timeframe.
It is expected that discussions will take place on the timeframe for achieving good chemical status in groundwater and surface water. The EU Council has proposed a date of 2039, while the European Parliament is aiming for 2033.
MEPs are also in favour of a system of extended producer responsibility. They are arguing that producers who sell products containing polluting chemical substances must help Member States to finance the costs of monitoring in line with the ‘polluter pays’ principle. (Original version in French by Florent Servia)