On the 21st of February, the Committee of the Regions organized a stakeholder consultation for its opinion on ‘Towards a resilient water management to fight the climate crisis within an EU Blue Deal.’ A consensus among the participants has, once again, emerged to develop a water strategy with an action plan. During the event, the Water Europe community was strongly active, with speakers including Mijriam Wolfrum (CDP Europe), Geoff Townsend (Ecolab), Vasileios Latinos (ICLEI), and Ana Margarida Luis (Aguas de Portugal).
As the Water Resilience initiative has been put on hold indefinitely, Water Europe welcomes the work of the European Committee of Regions to mobilise local and regional authorities on this topic. Moreover, Water Europe members particularly stressed the importance of data interoperability and digital tools, as well as public health aspects. Nature-based solutions and biodiversity are also recognised as part of the solution to build a Water-Smart Society in cooperation with local and regional authorities.
