EurEau newsletter - edition 20
December 2017
Microplastics: EurEau comments
Eunomia is finalising its study for the European Commission on unintentionally released microplastics over the life cycle of products. EurEau submitted detailed comments on the preliminary conclusions, which should also feed into the drafting process of the EU’s Plastics Strategy. More details at http://www.eumicroplastics.com/.
Critical infrastructures: Community of Users adopts more holistic approach
The Community of Users on Safe, Secure and Resilient Societies, coordinated by DG HOME and supporting targeted research activities, met on 5 December. The Commission announced that they would adopt a sector-specific approach and invite a wider group of relevant stakeholders. This fully responds to EurEau’s proposals.
A three-day event will be organised from 5-7 March 2018 including a meeting on water safety and security. It will bring together DG HOME (lead), DG ENV, DG ENER, ERNCIP, EurEau and WssTP. EurEau also calls for the involvement of CEN and NATO.
Plant Protection Products – public consultation
EurEau answered to the public consultation (stakeholders’ questionnaire) on the Plant Protection Products Regulation. The draft answer is available here.
Water Framework Directive: guidance document approved
At their December meeting, the Water Directors approved a guidance note under the Common Implementation Strategy on Exemptions to the Environmental Objectives according to Article 4(7) of the WFD. Final editing is underway.
Water Framework Directive: assessing the added value of EU legislation
The Commission is conducting a study on the socio-economic assessment of policies to improve the quality of freshwater and the marine environment – the so-called BLUE2 project. Part A aims to identify the economic benefits of EU water policy and the cost of its non-implementation. It is looking at freshwater and considers two aspects: the value of clean water as an input for the EU economy, and more generally the value of a healthy freshwater environment. Eight river basins are studied in detail.
Part B supports a wider effort to build up a Europe-wide capacity for the integrated assessment modelling of policies that affect the quality of the freshwater and marine environment. A total of 14 country visits are planned to check the assumptions. A workshop is due to take place on 6 February 2018.
Climate Change: Commission launches consultation
The European Commission launched a Public consultation on the evaluation of the EU’s Strategy on Adaption to Climate Change. It will remain open until 1 March 2018, with a public consultation meeting organised for 23 January in Brussels. EurEau will prepare a response.
The consultation is available at the following link here.
Glyphosate: the battle is not over
National ministers have formally approved the renewal of the authorisation for glyphosate for another five years. Member States can now decide individually whether they want to authorise the use of glyphosate-containing weedkillers.
Global 2000 and the Pesticide Action Network will file legal complaints against the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and Germany’s BfR risk assessment institute, accusing them of using scientific data in their assessments of glyphosate without stating it came from Monsanto.
Endocrine disruptors: criteria definitions progress
Scientific criteria to identify EDCs in biocides entered into force on 7 December and will become applicable in June 2018 (see here). Following a veto from the European Parliament, Member States have now endorsed a revised set of criteria for identifying EDCs in pesticides.
Sustainable Development Goals: Eurostat monitoring report
Eurostat recently published ‘Sustainable development in the European Union – 2017 monitoring report on progress towards the SDGs in an EU context’. It provides an overview of all individual EU indicators for the 17 SDGs and how they evolved over the past years.
Other events
18-23 March - World Water Forum (Brasilia)
26-31 August 2018 - World Water Week on the theme ‘Water, ecosystems and human development’
16-21 September 2018 - IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition 2018, Tokyo
You can see a list of events happening around Europe here.
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