Financing Europe’s Water Resilience: EIA Engages in High-Level Debate on the Next EU Budget

On 23 April 2026, the European policy institute I-Com hosted a policy breakfast in Brussels titled “Financing Europe’s Water Resilience”, held within the framework of the Cantiere Europa+ project. The meeting gathered institutional representatives, policy experts, and sector stakeholders to examine one of the most pressing challenges facing Europe: how to secure adequate and coherent investment for water resilience in the upcoming 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).

The European Irrigation Association (European Irrigation Association) was actively represented by its President, Moshi Berenstein, who contributed to the discussion on behalf of the irrigation sector and its role in delivering water efficiency solutions across Europe.

A growing investment gap for Europe’s water future

The event opened with Stefano da Empoli, President of I-Com (I-Com), who presented the institute’s background analysis and framed the strategic context of the debate. A keynote intervention was delivered by Veronica Manfredi, Director for Zero Pollution, Water Resilience & Green Urban Transition at the European Commission’s DG Environment (European Commission Directorate-General for Environment). She underlined the scale of the investment gap in the water sector and stressed that the upcoming MFF negotiations represent a critical opportunity to address it at European level.

Matteo Brumati, Environment Attaché at the Permanent Representation of Italy to the EU, highlighted another key concern: the risk that water resilience could be overshadowed by competing policy priorities such as defence and industrial competitiveness. He also pointed out the lack of a dedicated financing or guarantee instrument for water resilience, noting that current support is fragmented across multiple EU funding programmes.

Strategic autonomy and implementation challenges

The subsequent discussion and Q&A session brought forward several recurring themes: the absence of a coherent European framework for water investment, the importance of effective implementation of existing policies, and the growing link between water resilience and Europe’s broader strategic autonomy in a context of geopolitical and energy uncertainty.

Participants agreed that water is no longer only an environmental issue, but a strategic resource directly connected to economic resilience, food security, and industrial competitiveness.

EIA’s perspective: from strategy to investment

In his remarks, EIA President Moshi Berenstein emphasized both progress and remaining gaps in EU water policy:

“Europe has a Water Strategy — but not yet a fully aligned Water Investment Strategy.
Water is increasingly seen as strategic for competitiveness, yet it remains underfunded in the EU budget.
For our irrigation sector, the message is clear: efficient water use must be part of the solution. The sector must now connect innovation with funding opportunities to move from solutions to deployment.”

Moving forward

The I-Com policy breakfast underscored a shared recognition: Europe’s water resilience agenda is gaining political visibility, but still lacks the financial architecture needed to support large-scale transformation.

For the irrigation sector, and for the European Irrigation Association in particular, the path forward lies in strengthening the link between innovation, policy ambition, and EU investment mechanisms—ensuring that water efficiency becomes a central pillar of Europe’s climate adaptation and competitiveness strategy.