WFD newsletter . February 2004.
Date: 2010-10-28
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment
Subjects: EU environmental policy, application of EU law, environmental protection, serial publication, water

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European  Commission

WFDWFDWFDWFDWFD

NEWSLETTER

  2nd Edition, February 2004

Contents:

•  The Main Outcomes of the Water Directors’ meeting 24 - 25 November 2003
•  The Pilot River Basin Network - The Mosel-Saar, Tevere and Odense PRBs
•  The Information Board - upcoming events, meetings, information sources

Welcome  to  Water  Framework  Directive  Newsletter  presented  by  the  European  Commission’s
Directorate General for the Environment: a newsletter for everyone interested in European water
policy and in particular the process of implementation of the Water Framework Directive, or WFD.

The  aim  of  this  newsletter  is  to  bring  you  up  to  date  with  what  is  being  done  under  the  WFD  Common
Implementation Strategy, an outstanding joint effort to improve, protect and enhance the quality of our rivers,
lakes, transitional and coastal waters and groundwaters.  Published several times a year, the WFD Newslet-
ter will bring you news of what progress has been made and new issues arising from the process.  By reading
WFD Newsletter we hope it will not only inform you of what is going on, but inspire you to get involved and
play your part in helping to deliver one of Europe’s most ambitious pieces of environmental legislation to-
date.    WFD  Newsletter  will  be  available  electronically  free-of-charge  through  the  WFD  web-page  of  the
Environment DG (see below).

The  first  edition  of  the  Newsletter,  published  in  September  2003,  was  well  received.  Comments  on  the
presentation of the first edition have been taken into account in the production of this second edition.

In this edition, we discuss the outcome of the recent meeting of Water Directors, held in Rome on 24 and 25
November 2003 (page 2).  We examine progress in three of the pilot river basin districts (Mosel-Saar, Tevere
and Odense) and look at policy developments on the issue of flooding (page 3). Of course, we also provide
you with updates of the key news on the WFD, forthcoming events, meetings and workshops, and details on
where to find more information.

We hope you find this newsletter enjoyable and informative; in order for us to make this newsletter as useful
as possible, please send any further comments to the WFD Helpdesk (env-wfd-circa@cec.eu.int).

The Water Framework Directive - What is it?
In simple terms the Water Framework Directive (also known as the WFD or Directive 2000/60/EC) is a
legislative framework to protect and improve the quality of all water resources such as rivers, lakes,
groundwater, transitional and coastal water within the European Union. The WFD was published and
entered into force in December 2000 (Official Journal of the European Communities, L327, 22 December
2000, pages 1-72). Member States must incorporate the WFD into national law by the end of 2003.
Thereafter, many more steps must be taken to achieve “good status” of all European waters by 2015.

The Common Implementation Strategy
The  Common  Implementation  Strategy  for  the  Water  Framework  Directive  (known  as  the  CIS)  was
agreed by the European Commission, Member States and Norway in May 2001. The main aim of the
CIS is to provide support in the implementation of the WFD, by developing a common understanding
and guidance on key elements of this Directive. Experts from the above countries and candidate countries
as  well  as  stakeholders  and  non-governmental  organisations  are  all  involved  in  the  CIS  process. A
series of working groups and joint activities has been carried out and the results of the first two years
has recently been published on a CD-ROM. The current structure and the ongoing activities are laid
down in the work programme 2003/2004.

More information on the WFD and the CIS can be obtained from:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/water/water-framework/index_en.html  or
http://forum.europa.eu.int/Public/irc/env/wfd/home

 
Feature: The main outcomes of the Water Directors’ Meeting 24-25
November 2003 - Rome

The Water Directors of the European Union (EU, Acceding Countries, Candidate Countries and EFTA Countries)
met on 24 – 25 November in Rome on invitation of the Italian Presidency. The Agenda included the following
issues with relevance to the WFD:

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the progress of the Common Implementation Strategy for the Water Framework Directive;
the outline for a decision on a draft register of intercalibration sites;
the concept paper on reporting and the reporting guidance for 2004;
the finalisation of the guidance documents on wetlands and classification;
the progress on the integrated pilot river basin testing exercise;
integration of water policy in other policy areas, in particular agriculture policy and regional policy;
the co-operation in transboundary river basins;

The Water Directors were able to agree on a number of issues, including two new guidance documents on
the role of wetlands and on a general approach for classification of ecological status and ecological potential
and  the  first  documents  towards  a  new  reporting  system.  In  addition,  the  considerable  progress  on  the
preparation of the intercalibration network and the pilot river basin exercise was recognised and timetables
were agreed for 2004.

New activities for 2004 were endorsed including several workshops in the context of the new Groundwater
Working Group. For other new working areas such as eutrophication and programme of measures, detailed
mandates will be prepared in the coming months. High importance was given to the issue of integration of
water policy into other policy areas, in particular agriculture and regional policies. The Water Directors stressed
that discussions on integration issues, in particular as regards agriculture, should become a regular feature
within the Common Implementation Strategy.

In  addition  to  the  discussions  on  the  WFD  implementation,  also  several  other  issues  were  discussed.  In
particular, on flood prevention it was agreed to further develop a package of joint activities on European level
(see below) and the EU Marine Strategy, the terms of references for the various working groups were agreed.

The next meeting will be held in Dublin under Irish Presidency in June 2004.

Latest news on the Water Framework Directive

On  22  December  2003  was  the  deadline  by  which  EU  Member  States  had  to  incorporate  the  Water
Framework Directive into their national legislation. While many Member States have done so or are about
to do so, a few Member States will be several months late. The ten new Member States are expected to
transpose the Directive by the date of their accession, i.e. 1 May 2004.  The Commission will inform about
the progress of legal transposition and implementation on its homepage and in the next newsletter.

Latest news in other water policy areas: Flood Protection and Prevention

At the recent meeting of Water Directors the European Commission (DG Environment) presented a position
paper  on  the  preparation  of  a  European  initiative  on  flood  prevention  and  protection.  The  Commission
intend  to  present  a  ‘package’  on  flood  protection  by  summer  2004.  In  addition,  Germany  will  host  an
international conference under the umbrella of UNECE in June 2004. Moreover, the Dutch Presidency, in
the  second  half  of  2004,  intends  to  have  a  political  debate  on  flood  prevention  and  protection  on  the
informal Environment Council. Finally, the document commissioned by the Water Directors was recently
finalised  “Best  Practices  in  Flood  Prevention,  Protection  and  Mitigation”  and  is  available  on  WFD
CIRCA  system  under:  http://forum.europa.eu.int/Public/irc/env/wfd/library

water

The Pilot River Basin Network:
In the first edition of the WFD Newsletter, the Pilot River Basin Network was introduced. In this edition
of the newsletter, we provide further details on three of the pilot river basins : Mosel-Saar; Tevere;
and  Odense.  More  information  on  the  pilot  river  basin  exercise  is  available  on  the  Platform  for
Information Exchange of the Joint Research Centre under:
http://viso.ei.jrc.it/wfd_prb/index.html

The Mosel-Saar river basin is part of the Rhine International District and covers a surface area of
28 152 km2. This surface area covers a number of national territories:France; Luxembourg; Germany
(including the Saarland and Rhineland Palatinate); and Belgium. The Mosel-Saar river basin is inhabited
by 4.3 million people at an average density of 160 inhabitants/km2. Forestry and agriculture are the
two  main  industries  in  the  river  basin  district  although  in  France  and  Saarland  the  catchment  has
been affected by iron ore and coal mining activity.

The testing of the CIS Guidance Documents in this river basin is being conducted within the context
of the Mosel-Saar International Commissions for the Protection of the River Mosel and the River Saar
(ICPMS) which offer a permanent secretariat and present a platform for the exchange of experiences
in testing the Guidance Documents. This River Basin District is testing 4 CIS Guidance Documents.
Two workshops have been organised on the identification of water bodies and on economic issues.

More information on the Mosel-Saar can be found on the following web-site:
http://www.eau2015-rhin-meuse.fr/ 

The Tevere river basin is the largest river basin in central Italy and covers a surface area of 17 500 km2
encompassing a number of administrative regions. The city of Rome is located in the lower course of
the Tevere river, near to the mouth and there are several other towns distributed in the basin. Agriculture
is the dominat land use (53%) whilst 39% of the district is forested and 5% urbanised. The flow of the
Tevere river is controlled by several hydroelectric power stations.

All the CIS Guidance Documents are being tested in this river basin district. The testing of the documents
in this river basin will involve a number of national, regional and local authorities with the work co-
ordinated through a working group organised by the Tevere River Basin Authority.

So far, the focus of testing has included the identification of water bodies. The river basin district has
been  divided  into  200  sub-basins  and  work  is  ongoing  to  define  hydrological  balances  for  each
hydrological structure. Significant analysis of groundwater/surface water interactions and groundwater
quality is also being carried out using current and historic data. Working groups have been established
with stakeholders using GIS and the internet for the dissemination of information.

More information on the Tevere pilot river basin district can be found on their web-site:
http://www.abtevere.it/

The  Odense  Fjord  river  basin  is  situated  at  the  island  of  Fyn  central  in  Denmark  and  covers  a
surface area of 1060 km2. The Odense Fjord river basin is inhabited by 180 000 people. Agriculture
(livestock and cereal production) dominates the land use in the river basin district (71%) whilst 6% is
forrest and 6% is covered by fens, meadows and salt marshes. 9% is urban area including Odense,
Denmark’s 3rd largest city.

The testing of the CIS Guidance Documents in this river basin is being co-ordinated by Fyn County in
co-operation with the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, the National Environmental Research
Institute and other organisations. All the CIS Guidance Documents with the exception of Guidance
Document  9  on  Implementing  the  Geographical  Information  System  Elements  (GIS)  of  the  Water
Framework Directive are being tested by this River Basin District. A number of advisory boards have
been established to help steer the project with 50 local and 20 national participants.

The Odense PRB has recently published a first report on the analysis requried under Article 5 of the
Water Framework Directive based on the experience with Guidance Documents.

More information on the Odense Fjord pilot river basin district can be found on their web-site:
http://prb.fyns-amt.dk/

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Upcoming meetings*

(SCG: Strategic Co-ordination Group; EAF: Expert Advisory Forum)

Working Group 2A (Ecostat)

SCG and WFD Committee

SCG and WFD Committee

EAF Priority Substances

Water Directors Meeting (Irish Presidency)

Workshop on Groundwater Monitoring

* Unless otherwise indicated, all meetings are by invitation only

Frequently Asked Questions:

4 - 5 March 2004

15 March 2004

27 - 28 May 2004

14 - 15 June 2004

22 - 23 June 2004

25 June 2004

Ispra

Brussels

Brussels

Brussels

Dublin

Brussels

Who are the Water Directors?
The Water Directors are the representatives of the Member States’ and other Countries’ administrations with overall
responsibility on water policy, the so-called Competent Authorities. In most cases, this is the head of the respective
Directorate in the Environment Ministry of the countries. Informal meetings of the Water Directors of the EU Member
States and the European Commission first took place on an irregular basis with the holding Presidency of the EU
inviting to these meetings and chairing them together with the European Commission. Since 2000, they have become
a regular event on the calendar of each Member State holding the Presidency of the European Union, hence taking
place twice a year.  Today, the participating countries are the 15 Member States, the ten Acceding Countries, the two
Candidate Countries, the countries of the European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA),  the European Commission and the
European  Environment Agency,    which  brings  the  total  number  of  countries  participating  to  31.    It  was  the  Water
Directors who decided the initiation and the direction the Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) for the Water Framework
Directive (WFD). They are monitoring its progress and drive its progress forward by agreeing a work programme of
joint activities. In addition to the WFD, the Water Directors discuss all areas of relevance to European and international
water policy e.g. the EU Marine Strategy and flood protection and prevention.

What is the “Article 21 Committee” or the “WFD Committee”?
Whereas the Water Directors’ meeting is an informal forum to exchange information and views, the official body for
discussions and formal adaptations of the Water Framework Directive is the “WFD Committee” established under
Article 21 of the Directive. The Committee is an integral part of the overall implementation strategy and working structure.
It deals with issues that have to be decided according to agreed procedures including clear provisions on voting rights
for the different Member States. The WFD Committee was established on 6 May 2003 and it is chaired by the European
Commission. Currently, the issues that the Committee will be dealing with are intercalibration and reporting. For more
information on how Committee procedures work in the EU in general, see:
 http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/cig/g4000c.htm#c8

Key people in the WFD: the JRC WFD Team
The Institute of Environment and Sustainability (IES) of the JRC (Joint Research Centre) has, and
will continue to play a key role in the implementation of the WFD by addressing key research challenges
in inland and coastal waters, and co-coordinating the important Work Group on Ecological Status (2A),
acting as the Technical Secretariat of the Integrated River Basin Management WG (2B), coordinating the
Pilot River Basin exercise, contributing to the WG on analysis and monitoring of priority and hazardous
substances  (AMPS),  and  contributing  intensively
to  the  development  and  implementation  of  the
WFD-mandated  water  quality  reporting  activities
including  informatics  architecture,  GIS  and  river
basin  assessments,  and  the  intercalibration
metadata base.  At present 20 permanent scientists
and  numerous  visiting  scientists  (stagaires,
graduate  students,  postdoctoral  fellows,  visiting
scientists)  in  IES  participate  in  the  scientific
activities in support of DG ENV and Member States.
And  of  course,  the  IES-JRC  has  hosted  thus  far
nearly 20 workshops and drafting groups at Ispra,
and  all  seem  to  enjoy  the  ambiance  of  the  site,
and  collaboration  and  dedication  of  the  scientific
staff.

From Left to Right:
Front Row: Palle Haastrup, Anna-Stiina Heiskanen, Elisabetta Canuti, Ana Cristina Cardoso, Josema Zaldivar, Martina
Austoni, Steven Eisenreich. Back row: Georg Hanke, Jan Wollgast, Wouter van de Bund, Peeter Noges, Robert Loos,
Alfred De-Jager, Guido Premazzi, Jorgen Wuertz. Missing: Giovanni Bidoglio, Faycel Bourari, J. Vogt, Lorenzo Galbiani

For  more  information,  see  two  specific  websites  on  pilot  testing  and  intercalibration  prepared  by  the  JRC:
http://viso.ei.jrc.it/wfd_prb/index.html and http://ies.jrc.cec.eu.int/eewai/

European Commission

For more information:
 http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/water/
E-mail: env-wfd-circa@cec.eu.int

A great deal of information on the European Union is available on the Internet.
It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int).

© European Communities, 2004
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.