ENVI Committee approves report Water Resilience Strategy

The ENVI Committee of the European Parliament approved the draft report of rapporteur Thomas Bajada with amendments on the Water resilience Strategy on April 8. The report was adopted with 68 votes in favour, six against and 13 abstentions. The report is expected to be adopted during the 5-8 May plenary session. Bajada said he received 1,123 amendments to his initial draft report.

The ENVI Committee voted for the report on the Water Resilience Strategy that highlights the need for action to strengthen water resilience in six key areas. Water efficiency (1), combating water pollution (2), climate adaptation (3), financing and pricing (4), digitalization and innovation (5), and cross-border cooperation (6). According to Bajada the Members of Parliament are demanding water efficiency targets, funding and clean water within a strategy rooted in science, solidarity, and social justice. The rapporteur urges the EPP on LinkedIn to reconsider the gradual phase-out of toxic PFAS at source, based on science and when safe alternatives exist.

Technofixes above nature

The European Environment Bureau (EEB) is disappointed the proposed Water Resilience Strategy is watered down. “MEPs gave technofixes equal weight to nature, softened enforcement, and missed the bigger picture. Credit to Thomas Bajada for a bold original draft. The direction was right — the outcome, unfortunately, a step back”, EEB said in a press release. “The original draft report placed nature-based solutions (NbS) at the heart of EU water policy, but amendments have shifted the focus toward grey infrastructure and technological fixes. Also, the enforcement of EU directives, like the Water Framework Directive, has been replaced with vague language, omitting the 2027 implementation deadline.” The EEB is positive about the support for ocean health. “MEPs emphasised the importance of the Ocean Pact, showing political willingness to adopt a source-to-sea approach to tackle plastic pollution, Bisphenol A, pharmaceuticals, and heavy metals.”

Diluted PFAS ban

In a comment on their website EurEau welcomes calls for dedicating EU funding for water infrastructure investments in the next EU budget (MFF), but regrets that MEPs opted to dilute the report’s language on PFAS instead of demanding a comprehensive ban. “This choice comes in direct contradiction with other goals set out in the ENVI report, in particular the call for PFAS limits in surface water and groundwater as well as boosting water reuse and biosolids recycling. None of these can realistically be achieved without stopping PFAS emissions at the source through the universal ban under consideration by ECHA.”

Call for concrete targets

From February 4 until March 4, the European Commission launched a call for feedback to collect input from stakeholders for the development of the European Water Resilience Strategy. In the Have Your Say portal you can read comments from 574 organisations and citizens. The feedback reflects strong support for a more ambitious framework. Respondents, including companies, NGOs, public authorities, and individual citizens, emphasize the need for legally binding obligations to prioritize water efficiency across sectors. Many criticize the current draft for being too vague and call for concrete targets, robust monitoring, and policy coherence—especially in agriculture, energy, and urban planning.