Press Release on the Water Framework Directive

Subject: [Press Release] Organisations warn at the European Parliament about the risk of weakening the Water Framework Directive

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24 March 2026, Brussels - The European Water Movement and its members, experts from the European Environmental Bureau, ClientEarth, Engineers without Borders and EPSU, hosted by Diana Riba, Vicent Marza (Greens, ES) and César Luena (S&D, ES), have held a public discussion on ‘Competitiveness and environmental protection: two sides of the same coin - How the Water Framework Directive is the cornerstone of EU resilience’ at the European Parliament.

MEP Riba said “We know we need critical raw materials for the transition but if that means destroying rivers and lakes, we can’t call it a transition.”

MEP Marza said “Water contamination to nitrates, pesticides and others is a structural issue. Introducing further derogations to the non-deterioration principle isn’t simplification, it’s deregulation.”

MEP Luena said “Let’s not forget that water is a common good. Protection of water and competitiveness goes hand in hand.”

The Directive - Europe’s cornerstone law for freshwater protection - was thoroughly evaluated in 2019 and found to be providing sufficient flexibility to balance environmental protection, public health, and economic activity. Conclusions were clear: we should focus on implementation.

Yet, the Commission has announced in December 2025 its intention to revise the law, claiming that “To address specific challenges faced by critical raw materials projects under the Directive, the initiative will promote access to these materials in the EU, while protecting the environment and human health.”

Sara Johansson from the European Environmental Bureau said “This revision won’t just pull resources away from fixing gaps at the national level, it also slows down innovation and clean technologies that could cut emissions more efficiently. In short, it’s a lose-lose deal for Europe.”

At the same time, data from the EU Transparency Register show that 69% of meetings with Commission cabinet members were held with industry representatives, compared to only 16% with civil society. These behind-closed-doors discussions are shaping the new spirit of law making and contrast sharply with EU principles, which require transparent, evidence-based, and participatory policymaking.

The push to revise the Directive is further justified by misleading claims, inherited from the Draghi report, that environmental and social protections undermine competitiveness.

As Cléo Moreno from ClientEarth said on the matter, “Europe is still paying for past mining pollution, we shouldn’t repeat the mistakes of the past."

Meanwhile, according to the EEA State of Water Report 2024, only 29% of surface waters in the EU are in good chemical status. The very same year, an Eurobarometer survey concluded that 78% of Europeans want the EU to propose additional measures to address water-related problems in Europe.

As said Dante Maschio, from Engineering without Borders “We know that private interests have very specific interests. But we also know they don’t serve the common good, and after mining, it will be the agri-food lobby and all the others. We are concerned by the cascading effect of such a revision. In Spain, thanks to the Directive, we achieved to stop water transfers and strong monitoring in the Ebro river and its tributaries, also contributing to the well-being of society.”

Mining activities, in particular, have well-documented impacts on water quality, including toxic contamination and long-term ecosystem degradation. Weakening safeguards would exacerbate these harms.

Public opposition to environmental rollback is clear. In September 2025, over 200,000 citizens voiced their concerns during the consultation led on the simplification of environmental legislation. Europeans are calling for stronger protections.

At a time of escalating environmental crises and geopolitical instability, safeguarding water resources is not only an environmental necessity – it is a matter of social justice, democratic integrity, and long-term economic security.

In this context, the green transition cannot come at the expense of water, nature and democracy. The push to revise the Water Framework Directive reflects a dangerous political shift, where the remilitarisation of Europe and the race for critical raw materials risk overriding environmental protections and democratic principles.

From the European Movement for Water, we call on the European Commission to halt any plans to weaken the Water Framework Directive, uphold its own standards for transparent and inclusive decision-making, and prioritise the enforcement and full implementation of existing laws that protect Europe’s water, people, and future.

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