Feedback portal launched for targeted revision Water Framework Directive

The European Commission aims to revise the Water Framework Directive (WFD) to reduce administrative burdens and boost mining activity in Europe. A revised law proposal is expected to be presented by the European Commission in the summer of 2026. On 17 March, the European Commission opened a call for evidence to gather feedback from citizens and organisations in the Have your Say-portal. This portal will stay open until 14 April.

In the current geopolitical situation, Europe needs to become self-sufficient. But the mining industry is having trouble obtaining the necessary permits in Europe. The non-deterioration principle in the WFD restricts the discharge of pollutants from critical raw material projects into water bodies. Recently, two amendments have been added to the WFD to facilitate new projects. One for short-term temporary deterioration and another for cases where pollution is relocated without increasing overall loads.

Adress regulatory bottlenecks

The amendments mentioned above appear to be insufficient to boost Europe’s mining industry, and according to the European Commission, a revised law proposal is necessary. The European Commission writes in an article at the launch of the call for evidence that they intend ‘to address regulatory bottlenecks and simplify the legislation to promote circularity and access to critical raw materials while maintaining high standards that protect human health and the environment.’ The call for evidence is the first step in this process.

Environmental pollution

The call for evidence for the upcoming revision of the Water Framework Directive was launched on 17 March. So far, 17 citizens and organisations have left a reaction on the online platform. Most of them oppose the revision of the Water Framework Directive to make mining easier, out of fear for environmental pollution. Most of the people giving feedback are citizens (13), mainly from Spain and France. In Spain, citizens point to river pollution in 1998 caused by the breach of a dam that contained toxic wastewater from the Aznalcóllar mines.

Short- and long-term effects

The French water organisation Syndicat des Eaux et de l’Assainissement Alsace-Moselle points to the immediate and long-term impacts of mining. ‘Mining work affecting aquifers may lead to substantial changes in the levels and qualities observed, both in the groundwater and in the associated watercourses (including transfers between unexpected watersheds), with local effects which may go as far as built-up destabilisation – see, to that effect, the effects on the Moslan coal basin of the end of the exhaure in the mines. In the long term, we can only draw the Commission’s attention to the risks associated with uncontrolled discharges, and to the need to depollute, at the risk of polluting the population’s drinking water resources for sometimes significant periods of time.’

Stakeholder input

The European Commission announced in December 2025 its plans to revise the Water Framework Directive (WFD) with the aim of reducing administrative burdens and boosting mining activity in Europe. A revised law proposal is expected to be presented by the European Commission in the summer of 2026. Environmental groups are concerned that reopening the revision of the WFD will weaken the EU’s most important water law. In the ResourceEU action plan, the European Commission writes that it aims to  simplify the WFD and address specific bottlenecks in order to promote circularity and access to critical raw materials in the EU. The European Commission states in the ResourceEU action plan that it will build on Member State experience and stakeholder input.