Hans Goossens, WE President’s Editorial

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Dear Water Europe friends,

We are starting after summer with excellent news from the European Commission. The appointment of Jessika Roswall as the new Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience, and a Competitive Circular Economy signals that the EU has truly understood the importance of building a Water-Smart Society. This development highlights how water resilience is now recognised as one of the three cornerstones we have identified, alongside water sustainability and water security.

This new focus also shows that the EU is committed to addressing water resilience not just as a way to avoid catastrophes like those we have witnessed in Central Europe, with all the human loss, material damage, and suffering, but also as a core part of the Water-Smart Society. Water is the source of life and living but also of well-being and welfare.

As we move forward, we will explore how we can collaborate with this Commissioner and what the new focus areas mean for Europe. We need to generate a broader understanding that water resilience is not just a matter of disaster prevention, but create an awareness and recognition about water’s importance to the economy and society.

In this regard, Water Europe is getting ready to release its new Socio-Economic Study on the Value of the EU investing in Water. The study will provide further insights into the true value of water in shaping a resilient, competitive Europe. In particular, the study analyses water availability as a strategic resource for economic and social activities. It is estimated that around €45 billion are invested each year in Europe by water services providers, meaning on average, around €82 per EU citizen per year. However, the significance of water resources to the EU economy is much wider than the value of this water services provision. The study details the true value of water across four key sectors: semiconductors, data management, renewable energy supply sources and storage and agriculture and food processing.

Our goal with this study is to help securing a forward-looking EU Water Strategy, with dedicated European Water Funds. We are well on our way and the coming months will be filled with hard work and developments on all fronts. We are looking forward to joining forces with all of you on this journey.

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