The European Commission has launched a call for evidence on the review and revision of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), framed around promoting circularity and access to critical raw materials.
While framed as “simplification,” reopening the Directive risks weakening hard‑won water protection standards, increasing pollution, and undermining Europe’s water resilience at a time of escalating climate and water crises. Furthermore, the initiative raises serious concerns about the future of the WFD’s non-deterioration principle – particularly its application to permitting processes for projects such as mining. This principle is a cornerstone of EU water protection and is fundamental to safeguarding river ecosystems, supporting restoration efforts, and enabling dam removal across Europe.
An investigative article published by EUobserver / De Smog sheds further light on the WFD revision and the risk it poses to Europe’s water policy.
For the call for evidence, the Commission explicitly welcomes contributions not only from industry but from environmental organizations, river practitioners, and other stakeholders. Evidence of the environmental and socio-economic impacts of water pollution is especially relevant and needed.
DRE members and partners are strongly encouraged to respond and to share this call within their networks. Submissions carry the most weight when grounded in concrete, and, where possible, quantified examples of impacts on rivers and water bodies, such as:
- pollution affecting the ecological status
- impacts on water availability or quality
- economic costs for communities or public authorities
- long-term consequences for river restoration
Such evidence helps make the case that weakening water protection standards risks transferring the costs of pollution from polluters to society at large.