On April 13, 14 and 15, a meeting in person was held by the European Water Movement (EWM) in Brussels to analyse the status of implementation of the Right to Water in Europe and establish a line of action towards the current critical situation of water in Europe under the threat of droughts, climate crisis, water grabbing, pollution, as well as commodification and privatization policies. The meeting was attended by over 20 people from 9 countries (Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia, Spain). This event was also an opportunity to meet some MEPs in order to discuss the future of water in Europe, to illustrate some situations at national and regional level, confirming in the meantime the need to guarantee the Human Right to Water and our position in favour of a public governance of water.
Following our letter to MEPs of last April on the 2023 UN Water Conference and the Manifesto on Water Justice addressed to the UN at the aforesaid Conference, EWM demands that the policy on water pursued throughout Europe and in particular by EU institutions, addressing the following priority issues:
- Urgent need to preserve water resources and the universal right to water in front of environmental emergencies, pollution and conflicts of interest;
- Public and participative government of the whole water cycle and its incompatibility with present privatization policies.