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EWM contribution to the call for evidence on targeted revision of the WFD - April 2026

Contribution of the European Water Movement to the Call for Evidence on the revision of the Water Framework Directive

April 2026

The last EEA report on Europe’s State of Water 2024 has highlighted frightening figures on the state of EU water, of which only 29% of surface water being in good chemical status, and where some of the main drivers have been clearly identified.

We would like to understand how “the initiative will promote access to these materials in the EU, while protecting the environment and human health” considering the revision will undoubtedly lead to the weakening of environmental safeguards.

Reopening the Water Framework Directive would entail far-reaching environmental, social, and institutional risks for the benefit of a few. It would weaken the protection of water resources, with direct consequences for the Human Right to Water, public and nature health, local and small-scale businesses, while shifting long-term costs onto communities and public authorities.

At a systemic level, it would erode core EU principles of precaution, prevention, rectification of pollution at source and non-regression, as well as broader foundations of democratic governance, including transparency, participation, coherence and the rule of law. Such a revision would also undermine legal certainty at national level and create dangerous precedents across sectors, opening the door to further derogations from environmental and social standards, including in agriculture and other high-impacting industries.

In light of these risks, we call on the European Commission to:

  • refrain from reopening the Directive and instead prioritise its full and effective implementation;
  • uphold and strengthen the non-deterioration principle and existing safeguards, make use of existing sufficient exemptions rather than expanding them;
  • ensure strict compliance with the Better Regulation Guidelines, including meaningful public participation, transparency, and the use of robust and comprehensive evidence;
  • address the root causes of pressures on water resources by prioritising demand-side measures, resource efficiency, and sustainable consumption; and
  • ensure that any policy developments fully respect fundamental rights, planetary boundaries, and the long-term public interest.

See more in our attached response.