position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on minimum requirements for water reuse

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union concerning the

2018/0169 (COD)

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION

TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT



pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union



concerning the

position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on minimum requirements for water reuse

(Text with EEA relevance)

1.Background

Date of transmission of the proposal to the European Parliament and to the Council (document COM(2018) 337 final – 2018/0169 COD) 28 May 2018 Date the Committee of the Regions adopted its Opinion on the proposal 6 December 2018 Date the European Economic and Social Committee adopted its Opinion on the proposal 12 December 2018 Date of the position of the European Parliament, first reading: 12 February 2019 Date of Council agreement on a general approach 26 June 2019 Dates of the trilogues 10 October 2019 12 November 2019 2 December 2019 Date Committee of Permanent Representatives confirmed the compromise agreement 18 December 2019 Date the ENVI Committee of the European Parliament voted to endorse the compromise agreement 21 January 2020 Date of political agreement in the Committee of Permanent Representatives (I/A Item) 5 February 2020 Date of political agreement in Council (I/A Item) 18 February 2020 Date Committee of Permanent Representatives adopted the Position of the Council (I/A Item) 20 March 2020 Date of adoption of the Council first reading position 7 April 2020

2.Objective of the proposal from the Commission

Water is a limited resource in the EU, with one third of the EU territory experiencing water stress. The growing needs of populations, combined with climate change, will make the availability of water in sufficient quantity and quality even more of a challenge in Europe in the future.

The objective of the proposal on minimum requirements for water reuse is to contribute to alleviating water scarcity across the EU, in the context of adaptation to climate change, by increasing the uptake of the practice of water reuse in agricultural irrigation.

In addition to demand management and efficiency measures, water reuse is one important tool in the context of integrated water management. It should be encouraged wherever it is relevant and cost-effective, while safeguarding public health and ensuring environmental protection.

The proposal sets out harmonised minimum water quality requirements for the safe reuse of treated urban wastewaters in agricultural irrigation. To be suitable for use in agriculture, treated urban wastewater that has already undergone certain treatments under the rules of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive would need to undergo further treatment to meet the minimum quality parameters.

By setting minimum requirements, the proposal provides for a harmonised approach to water reuse for irrigation across the EU. This will ensure a level playing field for both the operators producing and supplying reclaimed waters and for farmers.

It is estimated that the proposed instrument could lead to approximately 6.6 billion m3 of water being reused per year in agricultural irrigation, as compared to 1.7 billion m3 per year in the absence of any EU legal framework. Reusing more than 50% of the total water volume theoretically available for irrigation from wastewater treatment plants in the EU would avoid more than 5% of direct abstraction from water bodies and groundwater. This would result in an over 5% reduction in water stress overall.

4.Comments on the position of the European Parliament

The European Parliament’s first reading position, adopted on 12 February 2019, suggested amendments to the Commission proposal, notably:

–references to a future widening of the scope of the legislation;

–new responsibilities for actors in the water reuse system other than the reclamation plant operators; and

–a more prominent role for the competent authorities.