Dear Water Europe friends,
As we have entered 2026, we are already looking ahead to the opportunities that the new year offers to turn the EU Water Resilience agenda into reality and advance the transition towards a truly Water-Smart Society and Economy. This is a crucial phase of implementation and alignment, where ambition must translate into concrete action.
From our side, we have started the year strongly, with the release of two key position papers. The first one focuses on the Water Investment Accelerator (WIA). Water Europe has welcomed the WIA, as announced in the Water Resilience Strategy, since it can become a key lever to close Europe’s structural water investment gap and accelerate the transition to a Water-Smart Economy and Society. The second position paper is about Public Procurement. Accounting for nearly 14% of the EU’s GDP and representing a major channel for EU Structural and Investment Funds, public procurement is uniquely positioned to drive transformation in a strategic sector for Europe. Our paper puts forward practical recommendations to harness procurement as a catalyst for innovation, sustainability, and fair competition.
In parallel, we are launching preparations for our next annual event, Water Market Europe 2026, which will be dedicated to Digital Twins and data management, in the context of the IDEATION project, on 16–17 April in Brussels. Registrations will be opening soon.
On the internal front, our Expert Groups and Communities of Practice continue implementing their work plans. In addition, we are making progress on our new and strategically important document, the Water-Smart Technology Roadmap, as well as on Water Europe’s contributions to key public consultations.
Overall, the Water Resilience Strategy, the ongoing negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), and the upcoming UN Water Conference 2026 create opportunities to embed water resilience and innovation across policy, financing, and international priorities. 2026 is a year of delivering results, and our Water Europe community is already playing its part!
