On Tuesday, 8 April, the Committee on the Environment (ENVI) adopted its position on the European Parliament’s draft own-initiative report on water resilience with 68 votes in favour, 6 against, and 13 abstentions. The report will be put to a vote during the plenary session in May.
MEPs are introducing sectoral targets for water efficiency and abstraction and promoting the use of digitalisation and innovation (real-time leak detection, smart irrigation, transparent data collection). It has been requested that a fund dedicated to water resilience be created in the next multiannual financial framework (MFF) (see EUROPE 13616/9).
With this report, the European Parliament intends to contribute to the ‘European Water Resilience Strategy’ that the European Commission is expected to submit in spring 2025.
“Water is not just a resource – it is a pillar of our strategic autonomy, our competitiveness, and our daily lives. No region should be left behind in Europe’s path towards resilience”, declared Thomas Bajada (S&D, Maltese), the text’s rapporteur.
Water scarcity. There is a call for increased reuse of wastewater, better water efficiency in agriculture, water savings in the buildings sector, and modernised industrial and production processes in order to combat water scarcity.
Pollution. MEPs called not only for the “forever chemicals” (PFAS) in consumer goods to be phased out but also for updated limits on the presence of PFAS in drinking water to be proposed. According to MEPs, the pollution of water by chemicals, pharmaceuticals, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, microplastics, pesticides, and fertilisers also needs to be reduced.
As expected, the amendment reiterating the EU’s 2030 target “to restore coastal, marine and freshwater ecosystems” was rejected, having no support from the EPP (see EUROPE 13616/9). (Original version in French by Florent Servia)