Opinion on the proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Community, of the Convention on the protection and use of transboundary watercourses and international lakes (1) (94/C 34/01)

On 12 July 1993 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 130s of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the abovementioned proposal.

The Section for Protection of the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Affairs, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 9 November 1993. The Rapporteur was Mr Giacomelli.

At its 310th Plenary Session (meeting of 24 November 1993), the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following Opinion unanimously.

1. Introduction

1.1. The Convention which the present proposal seeks to approve on behalf of the European Economic Community was adopted in Helsinki on 18 March 1992. It was drawn up by a working party in which the Commission represented the EC, and it has since been signed by 24 countries including all the EC Member States apart from Ireland.

1.2. The purpose of the Convention is to establish a framework for bilateral and multilateral cooperation to prevent, control and reduce the pollution of transboundary watercourses and international lakes, and, in a global context, to ensure the rational use of water resources in the member countries of the UN Economic Commission for Europe, under whose aegis the Convention was drawn up.

1.3. Some of the fields in which the Convention is applicable fall within the Community's jurisdiction on water matters; the Commission is able to cite legal precedents dating back to 31 March 1971 to justify the Community's power to conclude such a Convention. Moreover, the Member States alone are not able to meet all the obligations driving from the Convention. Article 25(3) and (4) requires the EC and Member States to decide on their respective responsibilities for the fulfilment of these obligations.

1.4. They will effect this delimitation when, in their respective spheres of responsibility, they conclude the Convention by depositing their instruments of approval and ratification.

1.5. The Committee approves the fact that because the measures laid down in the Convention come under environmental policy, the proposed Decision is to be based on Article 130s of the Treaty. The Committee also recognizes that, as stated in the last recital of the Decision's preamble, EC conclusion of the Convention will help to achieve the objectives set out in Article 130r.

1.6. Under Article 26, the Convention is to enter into force 90 days after the sixteenth instrument of ratification is deposited. Subject to the comments made in Point 4 of the present Opinion, the Committee supports the Commission's wish that the EC and its Member States, in their respective areas of responsibility, conclude the Convention by depositing their instruments of approval and ratification at the same time, thus speeding up the international adoption of rules to protect the environment, watercourses and lakes beyond national frontiers.

2. Preliminary comments

2.1. The need for high quality drinking water can only be met if relatively unpolluted water resources are available. Control of this problem at EC level depends in some cases on action taken outside the EC.

2.2. Therefore, the Committee obviously supports the Commission's move to reinforce measures for the protection of water resources, not least by extending their field of application beyond the EC. This is in line with the declaration of the International Conference on Water and the Environment, held in Dublin from 26 to 31 January 1992 with a view to the preparation of recommendations for the Rio Conference. The declaration emphasized the priority need to devise and implement integrated management systems that should be adopted by all the relevant governments and backed by international agreements.

3. General comments

3.1. The principles upheld by the Convention (Part I)

The purpose of the Convention is to establish a framework for measures to prevent, control and reduce water pollution. Its basic principles tally with those underpinning EC policy: i.e. the precautionary principle, the principle that preference should be given to preventive action and the 'polluter pays' principle, among others. Thus, the Convention does not alter existing EC policy but merely provides a useful supplement to it. The extension of the abovementioned principles to third countries can only be for the good, since rules on the protection and use of transboundary watercourses and international lakes will only be effective if they are universally applied.

3.2. The application of the recommended policy (Part II)

3.2.1. Part II of the Convention seeks to promote bilateral and multilateral cooperation and sets out the arrangements for implementing the principles enshrined in Part I.

3.2.2. EC implementation of an anti-pollution policy based on the same principles has yielded positive results in many areas but has not been without shortcomings. It is thus vital that account be taken of EC experience in order to prevent the same problems arising when the policy is extended to international level.

3.2.3. Considerations regarding the implementation of the principles

3.2.3.1. It is universally recognized that protection of the environment, including water resources, must be stepped up. Indeed, the Commission has already produced a number of Directives which tackle specific aspects by means of a two-pronged approach: emission standards and quality targets. However, it has recently become clear that further action is needed and that each water catchment area must have its own water management scheme which defines priority action and draws up a realistic schedule geared to the financing available. This point was also made in the declaration of the international conference held in Dublin in January 1992, which noted that the most appropriate geographical entity for the planning and management of both surface and ground water resources was the catchment area. Article 11 of the European Water Charter also specifies that 'the management of water resources should be based on their natural basins rather than on political and administrative boundaries'.

3.2.3.2. To help resolve the difficulties inherent in catering for a wide range of natural or economic situations, the EC operates the subsidiarity principle. However, this principle should ideally apply not only to measures within the EC but also to transboundary cooperation with third countries.

The work carried out by the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine against Pollution should serve as a model for action in the Meuse, Danube and Elbe basins, as well as for action which is now becoming necessary in the Evros delta in Greece. Furthermore, the experience gained here should be used to ensure the effectiveness of cooperation with non-EC States. Lastly, it goes without saying that the term 'riparian parties', which Article 1(4) of the Convention defines as 'parties bordering the same transboundary waters', must be applied in the strict sense when appointing representatives to sit on the commissions.

3.2.3.3. The need to take account of specific local situations is made particularly pressing by the fact that most of the neighbouring countries in question were until very recently members of the Eastern Bloc and now face economic difficulties. The Convention is designed to ensure the protection of uncontaminated water resources, fit for human consumption, throughout Europe - both inside and outside the Community. In order to avoid the exorbitant costs which could be incurred as a result of shortcomings or laxity, notably in Central and Eastern Europe, these countries must be offered further financial assistance for the time being and must be encouraged to redouble their efforts to protect their water resources in the same way as the rest of Europe (in this case, the other signatories to the Convention).

3.2.3.4. The Commission's role in the present Convention should therefore be to formalize flexible arrangements for the development and successful operation of multinational joint commissions based on catchment areas; these commissions should determine the detailed content of the measures at the level which ensures maximum effectiveness.

3.3. How to use water resources

3.3.1. The conditions for using water resources must take account of the special, unique characteristics which distinguish them from mineral resources.

When defining 'reasonable' conditions for use, one must remember that a water resource is renewed, at least in part, in the space of a year. Water resources must be used prudently, as otherwise precious quantities could flow unused into the sea.

The objective could be to treat water as a valuable asset by taking care to safeguard the scope for its sustainable development in the light of needs and by avoiding waste.

Conservation of water resources thus differs from that of fossil resources, and the focus should be more on the rational and balanced use of water resources.

3.3.2. The specific nature of water consumption

Another important point to bear in mind is that, as a rule, water is not really 'consumed', as it can be treated and reused several times. Hence the saying that 'it is not water we consume, but its purity'. The quality and quantity aspects of water are thus closely linked.

3.3.3. Priority for drinking-water consumption

Of the different uses to which water is put, particular importance attaches to the satisfaction of drinking-water needs, given the repercussions this may have on health and hygiene.

For this reason, the best quality resources should go as a matter of priority to the production of drinking water, with efforts being made to ensure that there is no fall-off in the standards currently laid down for tap and bottled water. Other needs can very often be met by lower quality waters.

When joint bodies meet to work out acceptable compromises, the question of drinking-water needs should be paramount.

4. Comments on the Articles of the Convention

Since the Convention has already been adopted (on 18 March 1992) and has already been signed by 24 countries including eleven of the EC Member States, the following comments are not designed as amendments at the present stage. Hence they only apply if the Convention is revised at some future date. They could perhaps also be borne in mind during the framing of specific Conventions.

4.1. Article 1(1)

It would be wrong to consider surface and ground waters separately when dealing with measures to protect resources as a whole. The Committee is therefore pleased that Article 1(1) specifies that the term 'transboundary waters' used in the Convention's title also refers to ground waters.

4.2. Article 1(6)

This states that the Convention uses the term 'hazardous substances' in the broad sense to cover toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic or bio-accumulative substances, especially when they are persistent.

However, water resources interact with their environment and provide a habitat for a number of plant and animal species. The characteristics of water resources may therefore change over time, and protection measures must take account of these natural phenomena.

The eutrophication of certain watercourses and lakes, notably as a result of rising concentrations of phosphorus, leads to sharp increases in algae. This can create compounds which are detrimental for the production of drinking water (compounds which produce a significant deterioration in the taste/smell of drinking water even after treatment, and metabolites deemed undesirable on health grounds). In particularly bad cases, untreated water may even become unfit for the production of drinking water.

If this problem is not covered by the Convention's measures to protect water resources, it might be worth addressing it on one of the occasions suggested in the introduction to Point 4 above. However, it may be felt that the problem is implicitly covered by points (e) and (f) of Annex III, which state that water-quality objectives and criteria shall:

'(e) be based on the application of ecological classification methods and chemical indices for the medium- and long-term review of water-quality maintenance and improvement;

(f) take into account the degree to which objectives are reached and the additional protective measures, based on emission limits, which may be required in individual cases.'

4.3. Article 13 - Exchange of information between riparian parties

The riparian parties are to exchange information on the quality of watercourses. EC experience shows that for such information to be useful, sampling, analysis and processing procedures need to be harmonized. These exchanges of information should thus take place within a precise framework laid down at local level in the light of the objectives being pursued. This is one of the roles of the joint commissions.

Water distribution companies can play a significant role in implementing this on the ground. Their responsibility for the quality of the water produced requires a detailed knowledge of the quality of the untreated water and more particularly of short-term variations. A number of European countries are broadening the role of their water distribution companies to cover the control of certain key environmental indicators.

It is therefore important to recognize in one form or another - perhaps by drawing up specific Conventions - the significant role of water distribution companies in the exchange of information between riparian parties on the quality of transboundary watercourses.

4.4. Article 14 - Warning and alarm systems

The Committee welcomes the importance which the Convention attaches to the establishment of warning and alarm systems, as these are vital for bilateral or multilateral monitoring of water resources.

Accidental pollution is a major hazard for water distribution companies as they play an essential part in the water supply chain. Such pollution can be very serious and may lead to a complete stoppage in water supply. This has led a number of distributors to devise action plans to reduce the impact of such accidents, and the effectiveness of these plans depends on the existence and smooth operation of warning and alarm systems. Such systems must take account of the specific constraints on water distribution in the area concerned. They must therefore be set up and administered close to the local level.

Done at Brussels, 24 November 1993.

The Chairman

of the Economic and Social Committee

Susanne TIEMANN

(1) OJ No C 212, 5. 8. 1993, p. 60.