Environment: Commission asks citizens about Europe's drinking water
24 Jun 2014 02:42 PM
The European Commission has yesterday launched a
public consultation on EU drinking water policy, to see where improvements
could be made. The consultation is a concrete response to Right2Water,
the first successful European Citizens'
Initiative.
Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said:
"The supply of safe, good quality drinking water across the EU is a
major achievement of EU legislation. But we have to look to the challenges
ahead, and address the concerns raised in this European Citizens'
Initiative. That means continuing the citizen-driven dialogue, and listening to
the expectations of consumers and other stakeholders for EU drinking water
legislation in the future."
Vice-President and Commissioner for Inter-Institutional Relations and
Administration Maroš Šefčovič, who was responsible
for creating the framework for European Citizens' Initiatives, said:
"The conclusion of this first successful ECI, when the Commission set
out how it intended to respond, was in fact just the start of the process. Now
we are starting to deliver on our promises. This is further evidence of the
real impact an ECI can have on European
decision-making."
The
consultation should provide us with a better understanding of citizens’
and stakeholders' views on the need for and possible range of actions that
could be undertaken to improve the supply of high quality drinking water. The
questions cover areas such as the current level of drinking water quality, the
main threats to drinking water, the information needs of citizens, and possible
additional actions that could be taken at EU level.
The
consultation, which is available here, is open until 15 September 2014. The results
will feed into a process of reflection on whether improvements might be needed
to the EU Drinking Water Directive.
In
addition to the consultation, the Commission will also soon launch a structured
stakeholder dialogue looking at transparency in the water sector. This is
another follow-up action from the European Citizens' Initiative. More
information will be made available through http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/initiatives/finalised/answ
ered.
Background
The objective of the Drinking Water Directive is to
protect human health from the adverse effects of any contamination of water
intended for human consumption, by ensuring that drinking water is wholesome
and clean. The quality of drinking water in the EU is generally good, and
the level of implementation of the Directive is overall very high. Member
States have to take measures to ensure that these objectives are met, and these
measures must not allow any deterioration of the quality of drinking
water.
Link to the Public
Consultation
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/consultations/water_drink_en.htm
For more information
More details on the level of implementation and the
areas which require attention, such as the quality of drinking water in areas
where supplies are low, are outlined in the Commission Synthesis Report on
the Quality of Drinking Water in the EU examining the Member States'
reports for the period 2008-2010:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-drink/reporting_en.html
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Contacts
:
For the press:
Joe Hennon (+32 2 295 35
93)
Andreja Skerl (+32 2 295 14
45)