Brussels, 25/09/2025 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 24 September, WWF Europe, PAN Europe and the EEB were critical of the “very long deadlines for action” given to Member States under the provisional agreement on priority substances to be monitored in water (see EUROPE 13716/4). The three NGOs welcome the expansion of the substances to be monitored (more pesticides - including glyphosate, a group of PFASs for the first time, pharmaceutical products, etc.), but criticise the introduction of two new exemptions allowing short-term negative impacts and deterioration in status due to the displacement of water or sediments. According to Claire Baffert of the WWF, this agreement is “a direct attack on our environment’s access to drinking water, by allowing companies to dump more toxic substances into our rivers”. (FS)