In a written question on Monday 16 June, 22 MEPs asked the European Commission what place would be given to local authorities in the response to PFAS within the European Water Resilience Strategy (see EUROPE 13653/7).
To date, the costs generated by PFAS (“forever chemicals”) are “largely” borne by local authorities, explained the MEPs. While the management of drinking water contaminated by PFAS could cost more than €20 billion a year, according to the Commission, Radan Kanev (EPP, Bulgarian), who initiated the question with Dimitri Tsiodras (EPP, Greek), highlights two requirements: - “to ensure a fair distribution (...) of responsibilities between local public and private players” and “to fully integrate (...) local authorities in the development of European defence mechanisms”.
The 22 MEPs (12 from the EPP, five from Renew Europe, two from the Greens/EFA, one from S&D and one from The Left) felt that several urgent measures needed to be funded: the installation of advanced filtration systems, the purchase of alternative drinking water, and pollution mapping.
The two questions addressed to the European Commission relate to the inclusion of local authorities, from “the collection and analysis of costs related to the treatment of PFAS” to “the shaping of public-private partnerships envisaged in the European Water Resilience Strategy”.
See the document: https://aeur.eu/f/hcr (Original version in French by Florent Servia)