Italy fails to correctly transpose the Drinking Water Directive

The European Commission started an infringement procedure against Italy because the Member State fails to correctly transpose the Drinking Water Directive. Italy now has two months to respond to the letter of formal notice and address the shortcomings. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the European Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion. 

The European Commission decided to open an infringement procedure by sending a letter of formal notice to Italy at the end of April 2026.  The shortcomings include limitations of the scope of the risk assessment of domestic distribution systems, the postponement of certain obligations, and the lack of an obligation to inform vulnerable people about ways to access drinking water. Italy also has to limit derogations as well as address the lack of a guidance value to manage the presence of non-relevant pesticide metabolites in drinking water.

Protection of human health

The recast Drinking Water Directive aims to protect human health by providing cleaner tap water, updating water quality standards, and tackling pollutants of concern, such as endocrine disruptors and microplastics. By 12 January 2023, Member States were required to transpose the Directive into national law and comply with its provisions.

Enforcement of the Drinking Water Directive

Last year, the European Commission started with the enforcement of the recast Drinking Water Directive. In June 2025, Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, the Netherlands and Portugal received a letter of formal notice. In July letters to Ireland, France and Slovenia were followed. Germany, Belgium, Estonia and Austria received letters later in the autumn of 2025.

Interactive map of infringement procedures

The European Commission has published an interactive map showing environmental infringements by Member State and topic. It is possible to select a Member State and see how it is performing as well as when and why infringement procedures were started. The interactive map also shows how many times a Member State has been referred to the European Court of Justice (Article 260 cases). Spain holds the dubious honour of leading in 2025 with nine active water procedures, followed by Italy, Greece and Portugal.