Aquatic ecosystems are home to a wide range of species and are vital for society and economic activities, yet they are under immense pressure from anthropogenic impact. More than 20 years after agreeing on the EU’s main water law, the Water Framework Directive, only one-third of Europe’s surface water bodies are in good chemical status. While the reported status of groundwater is slightly better, large regional differences reflect varied levels of monitoring efforts among Member States. This is a topic people care deeply about, the last Eurobarometer survey on the Attitudes of Europeans towards the Environment shows that 78% of Europeans want the EU to do more to tackle water pollution.
On 26 October 2022, the European Commission presented its proposal for a Directive amending the Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000/60/EC), the Groundwater Directive (GWD 2006/118/EC) and the Environmental Quality Standards Directive (EQSD 2008/105/EC). This proposal updates the lists of priority substances for surface and groundwater as well as their associated legal threshold values used to assess chemical status under the WFD. The initiative is long overdue, as updates should take place at least every 6 years1 and was last done in 2013 (surface water) and 2014 (groundwater).
The lists of priority substances and groundwater pollutants urgently need updating as they are incomplete, out of date and do not offer adequate protection of ecosystems and human health from risks posed by water pollution. Additionally, the quality standards are largely focused on individual substances, overlooking the non-negligible effects of chemical mixtures, widely underestimating the real loads of pollutants sensed by aquatic life.
The Commission’s proposal adds a range of crucial water pollutants such as PFAS, pharmaceuticals and additional pesticide active substances to the EU lists of surface and groundwater pollutants, which will require Member States to monitor their presence in water and ensure that quality standards are not surpassed. The European Parliament adopted its position in September 2023, and agreed to the proposed new substances, while also strengthening the proposal in several important aspects. However, the Council mandate, adopted in June 2024, weakens gravely not only the Commission’s proposal but also the WFD in general.
The EEB, PAN Europe, WWF, HCWH and Surfrider Foundation Europe call on the three European institutions to finalise the negotiations under the Hungarian Presidency, reject the weakening amendments proposed by the Council, especially those going beyond the scope of the proposal, and strengthen the Commission’s proposal where needed in line with the following recommendations.