Europe must face the classic economic clash between optimizing companies’ profits and the protection of the environment. The mining, agricultural, hydroelectric and chemical sectors aim to weaken the key directives of the European Union.
The set of lobbies, and all of the industrial lobby, are pushing for reducing the EU clean water regulations, although less than half of the continent’s rivers, wetlands and lakes are in good health, contravening the “good ecological conditions” expected by 2027.
While industry lobbyists claim the directive’s rules are too stringent, some EU states (like Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Finland) argue that the directive would, counterintuitively, be strengthened by incorporating some lobby positions. Also Europe’s hydropower industry ask for more consideration of industry costs, subsidiarity principles and dam approvals under EU “non-deterioration” standards.
On the other side, conservation and environmental groups say the proposed changes could sound a death knell for several endangered aaquatic species. A new study from WWF by several environmental groups says that proposals for an EU “fitness check” of water rules could allow harmful projects, weaken the “polluter pays” principle and lower the bar for what counts as a “good” ecological condition.
The head of natural resources at WWF’s European policy, Andreas Baumüller, said: «Rivers, lakes and wetlands are our life support systems but they are being annihilated under our very eyes. We have the legal tool to stop this – the EU water law – but member states must actively stand up to the sectors that pollute and destroy the most».
Also, the chief of Birdlife Europe’s policy, Ariel Brunner, said such changes «would almost certainly mean the extinction of many aquatic species that are already on the edge: sturgeon, eels, snails and a lot of endemic but localised fish species. But the impacts go way beyond biodiversity. With the rapid acceleration of climate change – he adds – this could become a question of life or death in places like the Iberian peninsula. If they keep using water at the current rate, when the big drought comes there won’t be any water left».
An unpublished EU states’ policy paper argues that extending the 2027 deadline would increase legislative coherence and compliance, partly because the bloc en masse is unlikely to meet the 2027 benchmarks. An EU statement on the fitness check is expected in the autumn, before a vote by environment ministers that should then be ratified by the European parliament in 2020.