The Council of the EU and the European Parliament will meet again on Tuesday 20 May for a second trilogue negotiation meeting on the revision of legislation for the protection of groundwater against pollution and on environmental quality standards in the field of water.
The aim of this update of the Water Framework Directive and its two child directives (the Groundwater Directive and the Surface Water Directive) is to revise the lists of pollutants that must be monitored and controlled (see EUROPE 13435/8, 13211/27).
At a preparatory meeting on Wednesday 14 May, the representatives of the Member States (Coreper) discussed the deadlines for starting the monitoring campaigns (nine months for the Member States, rather than six), the reporting of monitoring data and the three-year deadline threshold, according to a diplomatic source. An agreement with Parliament on capping the watchlist already exists at a technical level, the source added.
The Member States did not exchange views on producer responsibility (the ‘polluter pays’ principle), as they had no new information on Parliament’s position. Furthermore, the Council of the EU is not prepared to define criteria for the good ecological status of groundwater, as requested by the European Parliament, due to a lack of data. (Original version in French by Florent Servia)