The Water Framework Directive under review: what is really at stake?

On 10 December the European Commission published the Communication “Simplifying to achieve sustainable competitiveness”. In this context, the Water Framework Directive (WFD) is expected to be examined and revised by the second quarter of 2026.

This may seem like a technical debate, distant and with little media attention. However, as highlighted in the recent session of Veus de l’Aigua, organised by Aigua és Vida, what appears to be less “sexy” is often precisely what has the greatest impact.

The Water Framework Directive is not just another bureaucratic instrument. Since its adoption in 2000, it has acted as a legal shield protecting rivers, aquifers, wetlands and coastal waters across Europe.

Why does the Directive exist?

The WFD was adopted because, by the end of the twentieth century, aquatic ecosystems continued to deteriorate despite existing sectoral legislation. A new approach was needed.

The Directive establishes that water is not a commercial good like any other, but a heritage that must be protected. It introduces key principles such as the non-deterioration principle, the precautionary principle and the “polluter pays” principle. It also organises water governance around river basin management and requires public participation in decision-making processes.

In 2020, the European Commission carried out a comprehensive evaluation (Fitness Check) and concluded that the Directive is fit for purpose. The main issue identified was not the legislation itself, but its insufficient implementation.

There is no scientific evidence suggesting that the Directive is inadequate.

A revision in the name of competitiveness

The review announced by the Commission is part of a broader agenda aimed at strengthening European competitiveness, particularly within the framework of the RESource EU Action Plan, linked to access to strategic raw materials.

During the Veus de l’Aigua session it was highlighted that sectors such as the mining and extractive industries have called on European institutions to “increase flexibility” in certain key aspects of the Directive, particularly the system of exemptions and the non-deterioration principle.

If these limits are relaxed more broadly, the Directive could retain its formal structure while losing its real capacity to protect aquatic ecosystems.

What does this mean for us?

The Directive is not an abstract regulation. In Catalonia and across Spain it has been a key legal instrument for defending rivers and aquifers.

It has helped establish ecological flows, challenge river basin plans and expose the over-exploitation of water bodies. The water exploitation index places Catalonia at 31 %, a situation of water stress that is not an opinion but an official figure.

Without this European framework, many of these struggles would have been far weaker.

This is not a technical debate, it is a debate about priorities

The Directive is based on a simple idea: protecting aquatic ecosystems is not an environmental luxury, but a condition for public health and for life itself.

When proposals emerge to relax the non-deterioration principle in the name of competitiveness, what is really being discussed is a hierarchy of priorities. Who bears the costs? Who decides what is “strategic”? What level of environmental deterioration is considered acceptable?

If this framework is weakened, it is not only a regulation that changes: the balance between the public interest and sectoral interests shifts.

What comes next

The European Commission has announced a timeline that includes technical guidance, a public consultation period and, later, a formal proposal for revision.

This process will be decisive. Not only for the specific wording of the Directive, but also for the precedent it may set. At a time when environmental objectives have still not been fully achieved, any reform should be based on scientific evidence, transparency and meaningful public participation.

At Engineering Without Borders (Enginyeria Sense Fronteres), we believe that the revision must not become an environmental regression. Water is a human right and a common good, not a variable to be adjusted according to economic cycles or sectoral interests.

Engineering Without Borders is part of the European Water Movement, a network of organisations from different countries that has agreed to prioritise the defence of the Water Framework Directive during 2026 in the face of pressures to weaken it. What is at stake is not only a sectoral regulation, but the common European framework that protects rivers and aquifers.

In line with this position, we support the European campaign #HandsOffNature, which calls for the protection of water and nature not to be weakened in the name of competitiveness or short-term interests.

Manifesto

At the same time, several social and environmental organisations have begun promoting a manifesto to defend the Water Framework Directive against the risk of environmental rollback. The text warns that a reform aimed at “simplifying” environmental regulation could weaken the non-deterioration principle and reduce the ability to protect rivers, aquifers and aquatic ecosystems.

In this first phase, endorsements are being collected from people from the scientific and academic community or with experience in water management, as well as from social, environmental, academic organisations and public administrations. The deadline to join the manifesto is 15 March.

You can read the full manifesto and add your support here:

📄 Download the manifesto (PDF)
✍️ Endorsement form

Event at the European Parliament

In addition, on 24 March a public event on the defence of the Water Framework Directive will take place at the European Parliament, co-hosted by several European political groups. The session will bring together representatives of environmental organisations, legal experts and public water management professionals to analyse the risks associated with the revision and reinforce the defence of Europe’s water protection framework.

Speakers will include representatives from the European Environmental Bureau, ClientEarth, Eau de Paris and Engineering Without Borders. Register here.

In territories facing structural water stress such as ours, lowering environmental standards is not a solution. The challenge is not to simplify protection, but to ensure its effective implementation.

Protecting water and nature is not negotiable. And defending them is not only an institutional responsibility — it is also a social and democratic one.

The future of water in Europe is also being decided now.