# EUR-Lex - 52014DC0177 - EN

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# 52014DC0177

**COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION on the European Citizens' Initiative "Water and sanitation are a human right! Water is a public good, not a commodity!" /* COM/2014/0177 final */**

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1.            INTRODUCTION

The European Citizens' Initiative, introduced by the Lisbon Treaty to encourage a greater democratic involvement
of citizens in European affairs[1],
allows one million citizens of the European Union (EU),
coming from at least seven Member States, to call on the European Commission to
propose legislation on matters of EU competence. It is the first ever
participatory democracy instrument at EU level. Since its launch in April 2012
more than 5 million citizens have signed up to over 20 different initiatives.

"Right2Water" is the first European Citizens' Initiative to have met the requirements
set out in the Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on the citizens' initiative.
It was officially submitted to the Commission by its organisers on
20 December 2013, after having received the support of more than 1.6
million citizens.

In line with the provisions of the Regulation on the citizens' initiative, the Commission has three months to present its response to this
initiative in a Communication setting out "its legal and political
conclusions on the initiative, the action it intends to take, if any, and its
reasons for taking or not taking that action"[2].

The Commission received the organisers on
17 February 2014 and, on the same day, the organisers were given the
opportunity to present their initiative at a public hearing organised at the
European Parliament. Annex I provides further information on the procedural
aspects of this first citizens' initiative.

The Right2Water initiative invites the
Commission "to propose legislation implementing
the human right to water and sanitation, as recognized by the United Nations,
and promoting the provision of water and sanitation as essential public
services for all"[3].

The initiative "urge[s] that:

– 
The EU institutions and Member States be
obliged to ensure that all inhabitants enjoy the right to water and sanitation;

– 
Water supply and management of water
resources not be subject to ‘internal market rules’ and that water services be
excluded from liberalization;

– 
The EU increases its efforts to achieve
universal access to water and sanitation".

The initiative raises cross-cutting issues,
covering a wide range of policies at EU and Member States level. It must be
considered in accordance with EU Treaty rules, including notably the principles
of conferral, proportionality and subsidiarity.

2.            State of Play

Access to safe drinking water and
sanitation is inextricably linked to the right to life and human dignity and to
the need for an adequate standard of living.

Over the last decade, international law has
acknowledged a right to safe drinking water and sanitation, most prominently at
the United Nations (UN) level[4].
The UN General Assembly Resolution 64/292 recognises "the right to safe
and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for
the full enjoyment of life and all human rights". Moreover, in the final
outcome document of the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20),
heads of State and Government and high level representatives reaffirmed their
"commitments regarding the human right to safe drinking water and
sanitation, to be progressively realized for [their] populations with full
respect for national sovereignty"[5].

At the European level, the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe declared "that access to water must
be recognised as a fundamental human right because it is essential to life on
earth and is a resource that must be shared by humankind"[6]. The EU has also
reaffirmed that "all States bear human rights obligations regarding
access to safe drinking water, which must be available, physically accessible,
affordable and acceptable"[7].

These principles have also inspired EU
action. The EU Water Framework Directive recognises that "water is not
a commercial product like any other but, rather, a heritage which must be
protected, defended and treated as such"[8].
Certain rights and principles set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of
the EU can be interpreted as also being of direct relevance for access to safe
drinking water and improved sanitation. Effective protection of fundamental
rights, like the right to dignity (Article 1) or the right to life (Article 2),
is clearly affected by the lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Moreover,
the EU's commitment to a high level of environmental protection[9] (Article 37) should
also be taken into account in this context. Although the Charter applies to the
Member States only when implementing EU law, any provision of EU law itself must be compatible with the
Charter. Hence, all EU institutions and bodies must respect the rights
enshrined in the Charter and ensure that any measure taken on the basis of the
Treaty is compatible with those rights.

This is the context within which the Commission
has analysed the citizens' initiative with a view to setting out its
conclusions, in line with Article 10 of the Regulation on the citizens'
initiative.

The EU's contribution to better and
more accessible water

In order to secure and improve access to
water and sanitation, three elements are crucial: quality, physical
accessibility and affordability.

The EU has contributed to ensuring access
to safe drinking water and sanitation for the population of its Member States
through two main types of actions. Firstly, the EU has established ambitious
water quality standards, guaranteeing a high level of protection for both
public health and the environment. Secondly, the EU has provided financial
support to expand and improve water infrastructures in the Member States, thus
helping to increase both quality and physical access to water-related services.

The EU introduced minimum water quality
requirements in the 1970s and has expanded its water legislation gradually over
the past four decades. The Water Framework Directive[10], the Drinking Water
Directive[11]
and the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive[12]
are the key pieces of EU law in this field.

Such legislation pursues a holistic
approach to water management and ensures that water meets stringent requirements
and is thus safe, healthy and clean. Implementation of these EU environmental
rules has significantly improved the quality of EU drinking water, especially
in Eastern and Central Europe.

EU Cohesion Policy has for many years
strongly supported Member States' efforts in the development and upgrading of
infrastructures providing access to drinking water and waste-water services.
For example, since 2007, more than 2.6 million people across nine different
Member States have been provided with an improved supply of drinking water
thanks to EU financial support; an additional 5.7 million people, living in 14
different Member States, were connected to improved wastewater treatment. Over
the past seven years (2007-2013), EU financial support for investments in
drinking water supply and wastewater-related works and infrastructure reached
almost EUR 22 billion.

Affordability is also a key element because it relates to effective access to
water services for all. The EU has no role in the setting of water prices, which
are determined at national level. EU water-related environmental legislation
does, however, establish some basic principles for water pricing policies in
the Member States. The Water Framework Directive requires Member States to
ensure that the price charged to water consumers reflects the true costs of
water use. This encourages the sustainable use of limited water resources. EU
water policy is based on the principle that affordability of water services is
critical. National authorities are competent for taking concrete support
measures safeguarding disadvantaged people and tackling water-poverty issues
(e.g. through support for low-income households or through the establishment of
public service obligations).

Provision of water services in the
internal market

In the EU, the decision on how best to
operate water services is firmly in the hands of the public authorities in the
Member States. The provision of water services is generally the responsibility
of local authorities, which are the closest to the citizens and their concerns.

Public authorities are entirely free to
perform the relevant tasks directly, by their own means, or to confer them on
legally distinct, completely public, "in-house" entities. They may
also decide to outsource water services, partially or entirely, to private or
mixed management. When doing so, public authorities are fully entitled to
establish clear obligations for private operators to ensure that services provided
within their geographic area of competence meet prescribed standards.

The EU, for its part, takes care that key
Treaty principles − such as transparency and equal treatment − are
observed. At the same time, Treaty rules require it to remain neutral in
relation to national decisions governing the ownership regime for water
undertakings[13].

EU internal market rules fully respect the competence of public authorities to ensure the
required quality service standards, to decide on the applicable tariffs and to
impose any relevant public service obligations (e.g. to protect disadvantaged users).
These rules aim at increasing transparency, ensuring non-discrimination and
enabling citizens to get the best value for the money they pay through fees or
taxation. For instance, EU public procurement rules make sure that, if public authorities
decide to use an external company for the provision of water management
services, the selection process is transparent and ensures the most beneficial
offer to the users. If, instead, public authorities choose to provide these
services via public-public cooperation, EU legislation in the field of public
procurement is also there to provide a safe and flexible legal framework for
cooperation.

Referring to the concerns expressed by the citizens'
initiative that water supply and management of water resources should not be
subject to ‘internal market rules’ and that water services be excluded from
liberalization, the Commission confirms that public procurement legislation
does not apply when local authorities decide to provide the services themselves,
through a joint venture or through an affiliated undertaking[14].

The specificity of water and sanitation
services and their importance in satisfying the basic needs of the
population have been consistently acknowledged in EU legislation. Concessions
in the water sector are often subject to specific and complex arrangements, which
require a particular consideration given "the importance of water as a
public good of fundamental value to all Union citizens"[15]. Drinking water
concessions, as well as certain concessions for waste water treatment and
disposal are therefore excluded from the scope of the new EU rules on the award
of concession contracts. Moreover, water distribution and supply and wastewater
services are expressly excluded from the application of the cross-border
freedom to provide services, as established in the Services Directive[16].

The
EU's longstanding commitment at the global level

Poverty reduction, inclusive growth and
sustainable development depend heavily on the availability and quality of water
supply. Over 2.6 billion people worldwide have no access to improved
sanitation, and almost one billion still drink untreated drinking water.
Progress towards the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for safe drinking water
is on track, but the world is far behind meeting the sanitation target, with a
shortfall of over one billion people based on current trends.

The commitment of the EU towards ensuring
access to safe drinking water and sanitation and promoting integrated water
resource management in partner countries is a longstanding one. A specific
policy framework has been in place since 2002, with the "Communication
on water management in developing countries"[17]. This led to
the EU Water Initiative[18],
a political instrument aiming to improve cooperation and deliver more effective
development assistance through partnership and a multi-stakeholder approach.

The EU's policy objectives have been
translated into many concrete actions with significant financial support over
the last decade, including through the establishment of the ACP-EU Water
Facility[19]
in 2004. As a direct result of EU assistance, more than 70 million people
gained access to improved water supply and 24 million to sanitation facilities
between 2004 and 2013.

The EU and its Member States currently
provide close to 1.5 billion EUR every year for Water Supply, Sanitation and
Hygiene (WASH) programmes in developing countries. This makes the Union the largest single donor in the water sector.

Since 2007, the EU has allocated around 2.5
billion EUR for water and sanitation actions in more than 60 partner countries[20]. Much EU action in the
field of water and sanitation consists of developing infrastructures such as
water and sewerage networks, potable water and waste-water treatment plants,
rural water supply in scattered areas and rural sanitation.

Furthermore, the EU is the biggest donor to
humanitarian action in the WASH sector, now allocating around 200 million EUR
each year to ensure timely and dignified access to sufficient and safe water services
for populations threatened by on-going or imminent humanitarian crises.

The EU supports partnership projects (North-South and South-South) to develop capacity in the water and
sanitation sector by transferring expertise and knowledge from water and sanitation
utilities, local authorities and other water sector actors. Many of the
resources committed so far have helped water companies that lack capital to
extend water coverage to the poorest segments of the population. Moreover, the
EU Regional Blending Facilities have financed, since 2007, about 30 water
supply and sanitation projects, triggering more than 2 billion EUR of loans and
investments.

3.           ACTION IN
RELATION TO THE ECI

EU past and current
actions, as presented above, reflect a clear recognition of the importance of
water as a public good that is essential to the full enjoyment of life
and all human rights. Within the remit of its powers and in full respect of
subsidiarity, the EU has consistently played a positive role to ensure that
access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation becomes a reality for
all, both within and outside Europe.

In the light of the European Citizens'
Initiative, the Commission has sought to identify any remaining gaps and areas
where more efforts − at EU or national level – need to be made in order
to address the concerns motivating the citizens' call for action.

The Commission is committed to ensuring
that the human rights dimension of access to safe drinking water and sanitation,
which must be of high quality available, physically accessible, and affordable,
will continue to guide its future action.

Ensuring better quality and more
accessible water

Full implementation of EU water legislation
by the Member States is essential in order to ensure access to safe drinking
water for all EU citizens. In spite of the significant progress made over the
years, access to quality water and sanitation can still be improved, especially
for citizens living in areas served by small scale water supply systems.

The new 7th Environmental
Action Programme[21]
(EAP), which guides EU action in the environmental field, stresses that
better implementation of EU rules will be necessary for all EU citizens to
enjoy high standards of safe drinking and bathing water by 2020. More needs to
be done to:

· 
ensure a higher quality of drinking water for
small supplies (i.e. serving less 5.000 people), which provide water to around
65 million people in the EU;

· 
maintain and renew existing infrastructure,
paying particular attention to innovation for increased efficiency; and

· 
build missing wastewater infrastructure
(collection systems and treatment), in particular in Eastern European Member
States.

All of this requires sufficient
availability of financing, appropriate prioritisation and good governance,
including national and local administrative capacity for planning, coordination
and implementation of investments.  Member States' decisions on their spending
priorities for future EU funding[22]
will be particularly important in order to address the gaps identified. The
Commission will strive to ensure that Member States make full use of the
significant opportunities for EU financial support in the water sector provided
in the new financial programming period (2014-2020), in particular through an
investment priority specifically centred on water management.

The Commission will step up efforts towards full implementation
of EU water legislation by the Member States, working closely with them and
stakeholders to implement the proposals presented in the 2012 Water Blueprint[23], where the main
challenges for EU water policy had already been identified.

The Commission will also continue to keep EU water legislation under
review. Rules on priority substances in water[24]
were strengthened in 2013 and the Groundwater Directive[25] is in the process of
being updated. Likewise the Commission has been working, together with Member States and stakeholders, on adapting monitoring and analysis provisions under the
Drinking Water Directive to scientific and technical progress. Furthermore, and
particularly noting the concerns raised with respect to small drinking water
supplies, the Commission will launch an EU-wide public consultation
in order to assess the need for improvements and how they could be achieved.
The Commission will also prepare a review of the Water Framework Directive
and propose any necessary amendments to it[26].

As regards the key dimension of water
affordability, action at national level remains essential. Such action is
part and parcel of the Member States' policies to reduce poverty and social
exclusion, which are also supported and complemented at EU level[27]. Measures safeguarding
disadvantaged people are all the more important given the increase in
water-poverty issues during the economic crisis and the inability of some
people to pay their water bills. The Commission therefore invites Member States,
acting within their competences, to ensure access to a minimum water supply to
all citizens, in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health
Organisation[28],
and to correctly implement the Water Framework Directive.

Ensuring neutrality as regards the provision of water services

The Commission will continue to ensure full
respect of Treaty rules requiring the EU to remain neutral in relation to
national decisions governing the ownership regime for water undertakings[29],
while taking care that key Treaty principles − such as transparency and
equal treatment − are observed. Referring to the concerns expressed by
the citizens' initiative that water supply and management of water resources
should not be subject to ‘internal market rules’ and that water services be
excluded from liberalization, the Commission confirms that the new
legislation on public procurement will not apply when local authorities
decide to provide the services themselves, through a joint venture or through
an affiliated undertaking[30].

In international trade negotiations, the
Commission will also continue to actively engage with trade partners to ensure
that national, regional and local choices on how to run water services are
respected and properly safeguarded.

As mentioned above, the specificity of
water and sanitation services and their importance to satisfy the basic needs
of the population has been consistently recognised in EU internal market
legislation. New EU rules on the award of concession contracts, adopted by the
European Parliament and Council on 26 February 2014, are only the most recent
example of this. Following public concerns expressed during the legislative
process, the Commission proposed to explicitly exclude drinking water
concessions, as well as certain concessions for waste water treatment from the
scope of such rules. This responded also to concerns raised by the Right2Water
initiative.

Increasing Transparency

Transparency can play a key role in
improving citizens' access to water and sanitation services, impacting on its
three main dimensions (i.e. accessibility, affordability and quality). The need
for transparency has inspired provisions in the Water Framework Directive.
Article 14 requires that European citizens be informed and consulted during the
process leading to the adoption of river basin management plans, and that
authorities explain how their opinions have been taken into account. Moreover, EU
legislation guarantees the right of access to environmental information held by
or for public authorities and sets out the basic terms, conditions and
practical arrangements for its exercise, therefore contributing to more
transparent policies[31].

The Commission agrees that more should be
done to improve the quantity and quality of the information available to
citizens in the relation to water quality and services. Better information can empower
citizens, by allowing them to follow and participate more actively in the
water management decisions that are − for the most part − taken at
national, regional or local level.

The Commission will continue to develop new
initiatives to improve transparency for citizens. Under the Urban
Wastewater Treatment Directive, the Commission is working closely with Member
States, in particular with a set of pilot countries, to set up new information
systems that make key compliance information easily accessible for citizens
on-line (Structured Implementation and Information Frameworks).

The Commission will develop a similar
approach to increase transparency for consumers in relation to the quality of
drinking water. Similar to its role in the urban wastewater field, the
Commission could help Member States to identify the types of information needed
so as to create comparable information throughout the EU. The existing Water
Information System for Europe[32]
could provide a single entry point for such information.

Moreover, the Commission is ready to
explore the idea of benchmarking water quality as a way of empowering
citizens. The Commission is also prepared to promote a more structured dialogue
between stakeholders – bringing together public and private service operators
− and to cooperate with existing initiatives[33] to provide a
wider set of indicators and benchmarks for water services. These
will be a first step towards significantly improving the transparency and
accountability of water services providers by giving citizens access to
comparable data on the key economic, technical and quality performance
indicators of water operators.

A more integrated approach for
development assistance

The Commission is committed to ensuring
that the human rights dimension of access to safe drinking water and
sanitation remains at the heart of its development policy. The EU intends
to continue its efforts towards the achievement of universal access to water
and sanitation as a key part of its development policy. In spite of the
progress made, over 4,000 children under five worldwide die every day from
diseases associated to the lack of access to safe drinking water.

In the programming period 2014-2020, EU
financial assistance will focus on a targeted number of sectors in each partner
country, prioritising the areas
of greatest need to ensure that
aid is spent effectively and delivers the best possible results[34]. Support for the Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector will be better targeted at those partner countries having
identified water and sanitation as a priority sector when elaborating their
National Indicative Programmes. The Commission will coordinate with partner
countries, Member States and other development partners to make sure that there
is adequate coverage of the WASH sectors in all partner countries.

At the same time, EU action will move
towards a more integrated approach and the creation of synergies between water, energy and food security will be a guiding principle for future action, especially at
regional level. As food security is a priority sector for more than 50
countries, WASH interventions will be mainstreamed into food security
programmes, in order to impact on the under-nutrition problem of developing
countries. Under the new financial framework (2014-2020), over 3 billion EUR
will be earmarked to carry out nutrition-sensitive interventions of which WASH is one of the most relevant.

Water issues will also be addressed under
thematic instruments, through its linkages with agriculture, energy and
security. The Global Public Goods and Challenges thematic programme will seek
to strengthen the coherence of external actions and their link with other EU
policy initiatives, such as EU climate and energy policies, biodiversity,
environment, water resources management and water diplomacy, amongst others.

The Commission will continue its strong
engagement towards humanitarian action in the WASH sector for emergency
situations and their prevention. This is in recognition of the increasing risk
of conflict fuelled by stress on water resources as well as of the growing
water-related humanitarian needs in urban settings. The Commission will pursue
its on-going work to increase even further the timeliness, efficiency and
effectiveness of humanitarian aid through reinforced coordination mechanisms
between humanitarian partners.

Promotion of public-public
partnerships

There is growing recognition of the potential
of not-for-profit partnerships in the water sector. Over the last ten years, the ACP-EU
Water facility has played a pioneering role in this respect, through actions of capacity development for public authorities in ACP
countries. An evaluation of the Water Facility and its
impacts has been commissioned in 2013 and is currently ongoing. The results of
this evaluation will be duly taken into account and integrated in the future
programming approach and decisions.

Support for public-public partnerships will
also be provided in the context of programmes supporting the WASH sector in the
partner countries that have chosen water as a focal sector. Based on the
lessons learned from past and ongoing projects, the Commission will seek to
identify new partnership opportunities (North-South and South-South) to develop
capacity in the water and sanitation sector by transferring expertise and
knowledge between water and sanitation utilities, local authorities and other
water sector actors.

Rio+20 Follow-up

The EU will continue its efforts to achieve
universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation also in the context of
the follow-up to the UN Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, where
water was recognised to be at the core of sustainable development.

In the Ministerial Declaration "The
Future We Want"[35],
world leaders affirmed their commitment to the human right to safe drinking
water and sanitation, to the progressive realisation of access to safe and
affordable drinking water and sanitation for all (i.e. beyond Johannesburg and
the MDGs) and to significantly improve the implementation of integrated water
resource management.

In the recent Communication “A decent
life for all - ending poverty and giving the world sustainable future"[36],
the Commission highlights water as one of the sectors which needs to be
addressed in an integrated way to achieve basic human development and inclusive
and sustainable growth in the post-2015 development agenda to be
elaborated at UN level. The Council’s conclusions of 25 June 2013[37] state that the
post-2015 framework should integrate the economic, social and environmental
pillars of sustainable development in a balanced way to promote basic living
standards (including water and sanitation), the drivers of the “green economy”
and the sustainable use, management and protection of natural resources.

The report[38]
of the UN’s High-Level Panel on the post-2015 development agenda has proposed a
goal on water and sanitation, thus appearing as an emerging priority area for
the post-2015 framework.

The Commission is preparing a follow-up
Communication on the post-2015 development framework[39], prioritising goals
and targets, in which water and sanitation issues will be addressed. At the
international level, the Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development
Goals[40]
is also working on goals and targets. It will present its proposal to the UN
General Assembly in September 2014, and this outcome will then be integrated in
the intergovernmental negotiation leading towards a concluding summit to be
held in September 2015, where the EU and its Member States will continue to
play a key role.

4.           Conclusions

The Commission welcomes the mobilisation of
European citizens in support of access to safe drinking water and sanitation,
in Europe as well as at the global level. The Commission underlines the
importance of the human rights dimension of access to safe drinking water and
sanitation and will continue to ensure that these principles remain at the
heart of its policies. At EU level, the Commission will build on its past work
and continue to increase and improve access to safe drinking water and
sanitation for the whole population through environmental policies and
infrastructural funding.

The Commission will also continue to ensure
EU neutrality as regards national, regional and local choices for the provision
of water services, while taking care that key Treaty principles such as
transparency and equal treatment are observed. The Commission will also remain
attentive to public concerns about the specificity of water services, as it has
done in the context of the legislative process on EU concession rules.

Increasing transparency for EU citizens
will be at core of future EU efforts in this field. The aim will be to empower
people by tackling the information gaps that prevent them from engaging more
actively in water management decisions at local, regional and national level.

Globally, the Union remains committed to
the international process to elaborate the post-2015 development agenda and Sustainable
Development Goals of universal application and will continue to actively
promote access to safe drinking water and sanitation and integrated water
resource management through its development policy, in particular through a
financial commitment of more than 3 billion EUR to carry out
nutrition-sensitive interventions including for water and sanitation
(2014-2020).

In response to the citizens' call for
action, the Commission is committed to take concrete steps and work on a number
of new actions in areas that are of direct relevance to the initiative and its
goals. In particular, the Commission:

· 
will reinforce implementation of its water
quality legislation, building on the commitments presented in the 7th
EAP and the Water Blueprint;

· 
will launch an EU-wide public consultation on
the Drinking Water Directive, notably in view of improving access to quality
water in the EU;

· 
will improve transparency for urban wastewater
and drinking water data management  and explore the idea of benchmarking water
quality;

· 
will bring about a more structured dialogue
between stakeholders on transparency in the water sector;

· 
will cooperate with existing initiatives to
provide a wider set of benchmarks for water services;

· 
will stimulate innovative approaches for
development assistance (e.g. support to partnerships between water operators
and to public-public partnerships); promote sharing of best practices between
Member States (e.g. on solidarity
instruments) and identify new opportunities for cooperation.

· 
will advocate universal access to safe drinking water
and sanitation as a priority area for future Sustainable Development Goals.

Finally, the Commission invites the Member
States, acting within their competences, to take account of the concerns raised
by citizens through this initiative and encourages them to step up their own
efforts to guarantee the provision of safe, clean and affordable drinking water
and sanitation to all.

In accordance with article 10(2) of the ECI
regulation, the present Communication will be notified to the organisers of the
initiative as well as to the European Parliament and the Council and it will be
made public.

[1]               Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 of the European
Parliament and of the Council on the citizens' initiative; O.J. L 65,
11.3.2011, p. 1

[2]               In line with the provisions of article 10 (1)  of the
Regulation on the citizens' initiative

[3]               http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/initiatives/finalised/details/2012/000003

[4]               i.a. UN General Assembly Resolution n° 64/292 of
3.8.2010 and the UN Human Rights Council

Resolutions 7/22 of 28.3.2008 and 15/9 of 6.10.10

[5]               http://www.un.org/en/sustainablefuture/

[6]               Resolution n° 1693/2009 of the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe

[7]               Declaration by the High Representative, Catherine
Ashton, on behalf of the EU to commemorate the World Water Day, 22nd March
2010:  http://register.consilium.europa.eu/ : doc 7810/10

[8]               First recital of the EU Water Framework Directive,
2000/60/EC

[9]               Article 191(2) TFEU also ensures that the Union policy
on the environment shall aim at high level of protection taking into account
the diversity of situations in the various regions of the Union.

[10]             Directive 2000/60/EC of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a
framework for Community action in the field of water policy, Official Journal L 327 , 22/12/2000 P. 0001 - 0073

[11]             Council Directive 98/83/EC of 3 November 1998 on the
quality of water intended for human consumption,  OJ L 330, 5.12.1998, p. 32–54

[12]             Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning
urban waste-water treatment, OJ L 135, 30.5.1991, p. 40–52

[13]             Article 345 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU
clearly establishes a "principle of neutrality" in relation to the
rules governing the system of property ownership in the Member States. The EU
cannot, therefore, adopt legal acts affecting the rules governing the system of
property ownership, including those affecting the ownership of undertakings
providing a public service, such as the provision of water.

[14]             Subject to certain conditions set out in Article 23 of
Directive 2004/17/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council coordinating
the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy,
transport and postal services sectors (OJ L 134, 30.4.2004)

[15]             Recital 40 of the recently adopted Directive of the
European Parliament and of the Council on the

award of
concession contracts (PE-CONS 73/13, Publication in the OJ forthcoming)

[16]             Directive
2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 12 December 2006 on services in the internal
market

[17]             COM(2002)132 final

[18]             www.euwi.net

[19]             ACP: African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

[20]             This does not include assistance provided by individual
Member States

[21]             Decisions No 1386/2013/EU of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 20 November
2013 on a General Union Environment Action Programme to 2020 ‘Living well,
within the limits of our planet’

[22]             For European Structural and Investment Funds, spending
priorities for each individual EU country are currently being finalised within
Partnership Agreements and Operational Programmes, prepared by the Member
States and agreed with the Commission.

[23]             COM(2012) 673 final

[24]             Substances presenting a significant risk to or via the
aquatic environment; Directive 2013/39/EU OF of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 12 August
2013 amending Directives 2000/60/EC and 2008/105/EC as regards priority
substances in the field of water policy

[25]             Council Directive 80/68/EEC of 17 December 1979 on the
protection of groundwater against pollution caused by certain dangerous
substances; OJ L 20, 26.1.1980, p. 43–48

[26]             In line with the requirements of Article 19(2) of the
Directive

[27]             See in particular the Social Investment Package
published by the Commission in February 2013
(http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1044&langId=en).

[28]             According to WHO, between 50
and 100 litres of water per person per day are needed to ensure that most basic
needs are met and few health concerns arise. Access to 20-25 litres per person
per day represents a minimum, but this amount raises health concerns because it
is insufficient to meet basic hygiene and consumption requirements.

See:
http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/FactSheet35en.pdf.

[29]             Article 345 TFEU clearly establishes a "principle
of neutrality" in relation to the rules governing the system of property
ownership in the Member States. The EU cannot, therefore, adopt legal acts
affecting the rules governing the system of property ownership, including those
affecting the ownership of undertakings providing a public service, such as the
provision of water. Similarly, there is no legal base in the Treaties that
would allow for the adoption of a legal act of the EU imposing obligations on
companies regarding the reinvestment of their profits or governing their
shareholder structure.

[30]             Subject to certain conditions set out in Articles 28,
29 and 30 of Directive 2014/XX/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council
on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal
services sectors (adopted by the European Parliament and the Council on 26
February 2014, publication pending).

[31]             Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 28 January 2003 on public access to environmental information
and repealing Council Directive 90/313/EEC

[32]             http://water.europa.eu/

[33]             For instance: http://www.waterbenchmark.org

[34]             As set out in the Communication “Agenda for Change” -
COM(2011) 637

[35]             http://www.un.org/en/sustainablefuture/

[36]             COM (2013) 92

[37]             http://www.eu-un.europa.eu/articles/en/article_13692_en.htm

[38]             http://www.un.org/sg/management/pdf/HLP_P2015_Report.pdf

[39]             Commission Work Programme 2014, COM(2013)739

[40]             A 30-member Open Working Group of the UN General
Assembly was mandated by the Rio+20 Outcome document to prepare a proposal on
SDGs for consideration by the Assembly at its 68th session.