Press Releases

EWM Final Declaration - Girona Annual Meeting 2025

Girona, 8 December 2025

The EWM Annual Meeting 2025 came at a particularly critical moment, marked by deregulation processes promoted by the European Commission, growing pressure on water resources, and increasing frequency of prolonged droughts and floods. This context coincides with a key preparatory year for the third UN World Water Conference (December 2026), where Member States will need to define their positions and commitments.

This scenario is further complicated by the rise of far-right political forces across Europe, which drives deregulation and threatens fundamental rights such as universal access to water, recognized by the UN General Assembly and enshrined in the Drinking Water Directive.

In this context, the Girona meeting offered a platform for analyzing the impacts of European policies on water management and for developing strategies to defend water as a common and a fundamental human right. The event featured international, European, and national experts, providing critical and rigorous insights into current water-related challenges.

During the Girona meeting, held from 5 to 7 December, the European Water Movement (EWM), raised serious concerns regarding the negative consequences of the revision of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) announced by the European Commission on 10 December 2025, arguing it’s an obstacle for projects’ permitting such as mining projects. One of the main objectives of the meeting was to analyse the proposed deregulation of EU water-related legislation, both in terms of legislative amendment and financing mechanisms.

Social organisations call for the Water Framework Directive to be maintained following the European Commission's announcement of its review

December 10, 2025

The European Water Movement (EWM) warns of the negative consequences of the revision of the Water Framework Directive announced by the European Commission on December 10 at the Environmental Omnibus Package press conference.

Last weekend, from December 5 to 7, Girona hosted the EWM's Annual Meeting. One of the objectives was to analyse the proposals to deregulate European Union rules on water management, both in terms of derogations and financing.

“Without this common legal framework, any guarantee of the good ecological and chemical status of water bodies of the Europe Union disappears,” warn EWM members. The Water Framework Directive is the vital pillar of all European water policy, which is why they are calling on MEPs to defend the Directive and its current standards.

The EWM denounces the European Commission's drift, “giving in to mining and industrial lobbies with individual interests that threaten the right to a healthy environment and the public health of all European citizens.” The organisations point out that the European Commission has repeatedly stated its support for the Human Right to Water and Sanitation, following the nearly 2 million citizens who supported the first European Citizens' Initiative (ICE Right2Water) calling for the recognition of the right to water.

More than 100 European academics warn against a European Parliament proposal that could hinder the public services management

18 June 2025

The European Water Movement launches an appeal to defend the right of municipalities to opt for direct management of services such as water, transport and cleaning.

Over 100 professors, academics, researchers and experts in Public procurement, business and public management are calling to the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) negotiating the European Parliament report on the proposal for the revision of the public procurement Directive that is being currently discussed, not to introduce more administrative burden on local and regional governments and to promote more insourcing and inhouse provision when municipalities see fit.

More than 100 professors and academics from over 18 countries and over 50 different universities and institutes are calling the legislators to ensure that inhouse provision is uphold by the current parliament. Some MEPs with a far-right background have been promoting a dangerous element of what is usually called ‘competitive compulsive tendering’ echoing old proposals by the British Thatcherite right.

Condemnation of intimidation and union repression targeting water sector workers in Senegal

9 December 2025

Press Statement

AFRICA TRADE UNIONS AND CIVIL SOCIETY DEMAND GOVERNMENT OF SENEGAL STOP INTIMIDATORY ACTS AGAINST OUMAR BA AND WATER SECTOR WORKERS.

Download the full press release here.

To the Senegalese National Press and the International Media

CONDEMNATION OF INTIMIDATION AND UNION REPRESSION TARGETING WATER SECTOR WORKERS IN SENEGAL

The Africa Water Justice Network (AWJN) issues this statement to the national press in Senegal and to international media outlets to draw urgent attention to a situation of exceptional gravity within the country’s public water sector.

We firmly condemn the ongoing intimidation, pressure, and threats of dismissal directed at workers, including trade union representatives who are advocating for transparency, accountability, respect for fundamental labour rights and sector reforms that impact positively on both workers and served communities. The ongoing repression represents a direct attack on union freedoms and people’s rights.

Appeal to the ECtHR : Because you write Water, but read Democracy

"Because you write Water, but read Democracy" is the slogan that has accompanied us for almost twenty years and, still today, is the main motive why we presented at the Chamber of Deputies our appeal we will lodge with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

By this action, the Forum Italiano dei Movimenti per l’Acqua (Italian Forum of Water Movements), guardian of the successful outcome of the June 2011 referendum by which 27 million Italians expressed their clear will to exclude water management from market and profit logic, intends to assert this right currently still denied to all of us; denial that risks exacerbating the situation of social inequality already present in our country.

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