This month, Water Europe released its new position on the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)’s initiative for a EU blue deal. Water Europe welcomes this initiative to raise awareness of water and bring this topic higher on the EU agenda via a call for an EU Blue Deal.
Following up the resolution of the European Parliament calling on the European Commission to present a comprehensive water strategy and the conclusions of the Council in March 2023, underlining the importance of a strategic EU approach to water security, an EU blue Deal must embody a cross-sectoral strategy involving a wide range of European stakeholders. The European Union shall be a frontrunner in terms of water-related solutions. This EU Blue Deal shall recognise the value of water to ensure water security, sustainability, and resilience. Therefore, Europe must not close the Green Deal chapter but open a second one for a Water-Smart Strategy which will put water – the main natural resource of our society, economy, and environment – at the heart of the EU agenda.
This policy-related paper from Water Europe aims to contribute to an EU reflection on key policies for recognizing the value of water and achieving a Water-Smart Society. Over more than 20 detailed recommendations for each section, three main ones are addressed to the whole European Economic and Social Committee:
Nomination of an EU Vice-President for water
Creation of an EU water fund
Make water exploitation index + (WEI+) fall below 20% in every EU sub-basin
The position paper is available here. Water Europe’s community will continue to discuss this dossier during Water Innovation Europe 2023 on the 21-22 June in Brussels.
