A water blueprint for Europe.
Date: 2014-04-03
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment
Subjects: EU environmental policy, EU waters, environmental protection, water management, water protection, water resources

A Water Blueprint  
for Europe

Environment 

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A Water Blueprint for Europe

1999

Table of contents

Foreword 
Why does Europe need to take action? 

The EU Water Framework Directive: a timetable for progress 

Water quality or water quantity? 

River Basin Management Plan assessment  

What is the Blueprint? 
‘Something better’: the Blueprint proposals for improving  
implementation of the law 

Water accounts and ecological flow 

Target setting 

Water pricing  

Water trading 

Plugging the leaks 

Drought observatory 

Satellite technology 

‘Something more’: water should flow through all areas  
of EU policy-making 

Agriculture 

Green infrastructure and natural water-retention measures 

Cohesion and Structural Funds 
‘Something new’: plugging the gaps 

Water efficiency in buildings and the Ecodesign Directive 

Water reuse: EU quality standards 

Cross-cutting measures: more knowledge … 

… and the right tools 

What about economic recovery? 

Water worldwide 
What next?  

An overview of the Blueprint proposals 

Further reading and links 

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1999

“The trouble with water is that they’re not making any more of it.”

Marq de Villiers: ‘Water: The Fate of our Most Precious Resource’

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A   W A T E R   BL U E P R I N T  F O R   EU R O P E

Foreword

by Janez Potočnik, EU Environment Commissioner 

EU  water  policy  has  successfully  contributed  to 
water  protection  over  the  past  three  decades. 
However, in many regions in Europe, this precious 
resource  is  coming  under  increasing  pressure, 
in  particular  from  economic  activities.  We  need 
to make sure that EU legislation is fit to respond 
to these new challenges. 

these sectors that we can ensure the availability 
of  good-quality  water  for  present  and  future 
generations. This goal is already enshrined in the 
EU Water Framework Directive adopted in 2000. 
The Water Blueprint facilitates its implementation 
by  identifying  remaining  obstacles  and  ways  to 
overcome them. 

This is why the Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s 
Water  Resources,  presented  by  the  Commission 
in November 2012, reiterates the need to place 
the  management  of  Europe’s  water  resources 
into  a  wider  perspective,  addressing  all  users 
of water as well as water’s inter actions with other 
resources, such as land and energy. If not sustain-
ably managed, water use may exceed the carrying 
capacity of our environment, thereby damaging or 
destroying  aquatic  ecosystems,  while  having 
negative  impacts  on  human  health.  This  is  why 
it  is  important  that  all  sectors  that  use  water 
resources, such as industry, agriculture, tourism, 
urban  development  and  energy  production,  are 
sustainably managed. It is only by working across 

The Blueprint proposal, which has been endorsed 
by EU Member States in their conclusions of Decem-
ber 2012, is now reflected in the Work Programme 
of  the  Common  Implementation  Strategy  under 
the  Water  Framework  Directive.  This  is  an  open 
and participatory process in which the Commission, 
Member States and stake holders work together to 
improve the implementation of EU water policy.

The Blueprint has set the EU water policy agenda 
for  the  years  to  come.  It  is  now  time  to  work 
together at all levels to ensure better implemen-
tation,  increase  policy  integration  and  close 
remaining policy gaps. 

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6

Why does Europe need to take action?

Water is the source of life. Both human activities 
and the natural world depend on it, and in recent 
years  we  have  become  increasingly  aware  of 
the need to protect it. To make sure that enough 
good-quality water is available in the long term, 
at the beginning of the millennium the EU adopted 
ground-breaking legislation, the Water Framework 
Directive (WFD), aiming to achieve ‘good status’ 
for all Europe’s waters by 2015.

But  water  is  still  under  growing  pressure  from 
domestic demand, economic acti vities, urban de-
velopment and climate change. It is dammed to 
generate energy, polluted by chemicals, hemmed 
in by flood protection barriers, and drained off for 
irrigation and farmland. Assessments conducted 
by the European Commission and the European 
Environment  Agency  (EEA)  show  a  number  of 
problems:

  Unless stronger action is taken, 47 % of EU 
surface water will not meet good ecological 
status by the 2015 deadline; 

  There is a lot of uncertainty related to the 
chemical  status  of  surface  waters  due  to 
information gaps;

  About 25 % of groundwater is still ex-
pected to suffer from poor chemical status 
in 2015;

  60 % of European cities over-exploit their 
groundwater resources and 50 % of wet-
lands are endangered.

Sixty per cent of the EU’s territory lies in trans-
boundary  river  basins.  The  hydrological  cycles 
are so interconnected that land use in one country 

can  affect  precipitation  beyond  its  borders. 
Moreover, the European market, EU common pol-
icies and Member State policies all have significant 
impacts on water status. Therefore, action at EU 
level  is  needed  to  face  the  water  challenges  of 
the 21st century.

The EU Water Framework  
Directive: a timetable for  
progress

The 2000 WFD is one of the most comprehensive 
and ambitious pieces of EU environmental legis-
lation. Its main objective is to achieve ‘good status’ 
for  all  EU  waters,  including  fresh,  transitional 
(river mouths) and coastal waters, by 2015. 

The  WFD  is  complemented  by  a  number  of other 
laws  governing  specific  aspects  of  water  policy 
which all contribute to achieving good status. These 
include urban waste water, nitrates, industrial emis-
sions, pesticides, bathing and drinking water.

Under  the  WFD,  water  management  is  organ-
ised through a network of river basins, many of 
which  cross  frontiers  between  Member  States. 
For example, the Danube international river basin 
district  is  the  largest  in  Europe,  touching  on 
ten  Member  States  and  nine  neighbouring 
countries.

The WFD sets out a clear timetable for implementa-
tion, based on six-year management cycles. Mem-
ber  States  were  required  to  draw  up  River  Basin 
Management Plans by 2009 and will need to update 
them in 2015. Public consultation and participation 
in the development of the plans is obligatory. 

7

In  2012,  the  Commission  published  its  imple-
mentation  report,  assessing  all  the  plans  that 
Member States have delivered.

Water quality or water  
quantity?
Water  quality  and  quantity  are  intrinsically 
linked as they depend on each other. Good wa-
ter status not only means controlling pollution, 
but also involves guaranteeing ecological wa-
ter  flow,  so  that  ecosystems  can  continue  to 
function  and  provide  their  essential  services. 
These  ecosystem  services  are  of  enormous 
value. For example, wetlands purify water and 
absorb carbon. 

Water also plays an important role in controlling 
climate and weather patterns around the globe. 
The EEA estimates that it would cost EUR 2.5 billion 
a year to do the same job artificially! 

River Basin Management Plan 
(RBMP) assessment  
(November 2012)
The  Commission’s  latest  WFD  implementation 
report found that too many Member States were 
awarding individual bodies of water ‘exemptions’ 
from the 2015 deadline, and this reflected a “lack 
of ambition”. Exemptions often lacked transparent 
criteria to justify them.

Water status according to the EU Member States’ RBMPs, assessed  
by the Commission – Ecological Status of Surface Water Bodies

■ Unkown Ecological status

■ Good Ecological status

■ Exemptions

S
E
I
D
O
B
R
E
T
A
W
E
C
A
F
R
U
S

F
O
E
G
A
T
N
E
C
R
E
P

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

EE      SK     RO     SE    MT     IE     PT     SI      LV     LT    ES    BG     AT     FR     CY     DK     EL    UK    FI      IT    CZ     DE     HU     LU     PL     NL    BE

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A   W A T E R   BL U E P R I N T  F O R   EU R O P E

 
 
 
 
ECOLOGICAL STATUS

GOOD

MODERATE

POOR

BAD

r e s t o r a t i o n

“We  need  to  really  step  up  our  action  a  lot  in 
order to get close to the WFD goal. We may be 
some way from achieving it, but it can be done 
by working together at all levels.”

Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for the Environment

According to the WFD, the status of surface waters has two aspects: ecological and chemical. 
Both play a role in achieving overall good status. 

Ecological status indicates the health of ecosystems, measuring aquatic plant life and fish, 
the presence of nutrients, salinity, pollution and water temperature. It also takes account 
of morpho logical features like water flow and depth, and the structure of river beds. 

Chemical status is judged by the presence of specific chemicals in water, biota and sediment. 
Many of these substances are known to be harmful and are controlled by other EU legislation 
such as REACH1, and plant protection products and biocides regulations. 

Currently,  45  substances  have  been  identified  as  ‘priority  substances’  under  water 
legislation  requiring  control  measures  or  the  phasing-out  of  emissions,  discharges  and 
losses over a 20-year period. 

For groundwater, the two aspects taken into consideration are quantitative and chemical status.

1)  The EU Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. It entered 

into force on 1 June 2007.

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ModerateMajorSevereHIGH10

What is the Blueprint?

The  Blueprint  to  safeguard  Europe’s  water 
resources sets out to strengthen and fill the gaps 
in EU water policy, so as to make a real impact 
right  across  Europe.  It  draws  on  a  wealth  of 
research  and  information,  including  the  RBMPs 
assessment  report,  and  the  European  Environ-
ment  Agency  (EEA)  State  of  Water  report,  as 
well as a review of policy on water scarcity and 
drought.  Such  detailed  information  has  never 
been available in the past. 

The  Blueprint  proposals,  published  in  November 
2012, emerge from a collective effort of consult-
ation  and  preparation  involving  the  European 
Parliament,  Member  States,  water  suppliers  and 
users in industry, scientists, NGOs and the general 
public.

It  aims  to  ensure  sustainable  water  use,  taking 
into  account  the  needs  of  both  people  and  the 
natural ecosystems they depend on.

“We forget that the water cycle 
and the life cycle are one.”                              
Jacques Cousteau

It does not seek to impose a ‘one-size-fits-all’ so-
lution  on  every  Member  State.  Aquatic  environ-
ments differ considerably across Europe. Instead 
it  emphasises  key  themes  such  as  land  use, 
pollution,  water  efficiency  and  resilience,  and 
governance. 

involve  national  and 

The  success  of  the  Blueprint  will  depend  on 
Member  States’  willingness  to  take  action,  and 
to 
local  stakeholders. 
The  Commission  will  make  its  own  contribution 
by monitoring progress, helping to develop imple-
mentation tools and enforcing EU water law.

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‘Something better’: the Blueprint proposals  
for improving implementation of the law

With  the  key  legislation  in  place,  more  effort  is 
needed  to  make  sure  it  delivers  the  hoped-for 
results.  The  Blueprint  sets  out  specific  responsi-
bilities and clear timetables for meeting targets.

The  Commission  will  pay  particular  attention  to 
enforcing WFD monitoring requirements. Member 
States should extend nitrate-vulnerable zones 
and reinforce action programmes under the Ni-
trates Directive. Together with the Commission, 
they should prepare  implementation  plans  for 
the  Urban  Wastewater  Treatment  Directive  by 
2014, and improve compliance rates for waste-
water  treatment  by  2018,  through  long-term 
investment  planning  (including  EU  funding  and 
European  Investment  Bank  loans).  As  of  2016, 
under the Industrial Emissions Directive, Member 
States should also ensure that emissions permits 
impose  Emission  Limit  Values  (ELVs)  in  line 
with  Best  Available  Techniques  (BAT)  and  take 
account of relevant water objectives. 

Water accounts and  
ecological flow
Managing water is a bit like managing a budget. 
Just  as  you  need  to  count  the  money  you  have 
before you can decide how to spend it, we need 
to know how much water is available in order 
to  distribute  it  sustainably  –  and  that  means 
leaving enough for nature to survive comfortably. 
Unfortunately, this knowledge is lacking in many 
parts of Europe. ‘Water accounts’ are the missing 
link, so the EU has been working with the EEA to 

develop a system for calculating water balances 
and measuring ecological flows in river basin and 
sub-catchment areas. The aim is to collect more 
data  and  create  a  common  understanding  of 
ecological flow. 

Target setting

The Blueprint proposes that river basin authorities 
should  develop  water  efficiency  targets,  taking 
into account the water stress indicators developed 
under the WFD Common Implementation Strategy 
(CIS). This is an open, collaborative process involv-
ing  national  authorities,  NGOs  and  businesses. 
Targets should cover all water users, including in-
dustry,  agriculture  and  households,  and  should 
be linked to achieving the good status objective. 
In  order  to  ensure  consistency  across  Europe, 
the  Commission  will  develop  –  together  with 
Member States and stakeholders – a common EU 
methodology for setting water efficiency targets.

Water pricing 

Water pricing – included in the WFD – has to be 
realistic  and  take  account  of  environmental 
costs,  but  at  present,  in  many  cases,  it  is  not 
working.  It  should  be  an  incentive  for  domestic 
consumers, farmers and businesses to use water 
more  carefully;  but  for  that  to  happen,  Europe 
needs  ad equate  pricing  levels  based  on  water-
metering. The EU wants to put in place a common 
methodology for cost-recovery calculation, which 
would take account of the polluter pays principle.

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Examples of the cost of water (in EUR) per cubic metre,  
in EU Member States (residential/domestic water prices)

s
e
r
t
e
m
c
i
b
u
C

6.00

5.00

4.00

3.00

2.00

1.00

0.00

Portugal

Greece

Italy

Spain

Hungary

Austria

Sweden

Poland
Czech Republic

France

Wallonia
England & Wales

Flanders

Scotland

Denmark

Germany

The Netherlands
Finland

Water trading
Another  implementation  tool  proposed  in  the 
Blueprint is water trading: buying and selling water 
access  rights.  Administrative  costs  are  relatively 
high,  and  the  scheme  would  probably  only  be 
cost-effective at river basin level, not as an EU-wide 
initiative.  However,  it  could  help  to  counter  water 
stress and improve efficiency, and the Commission 
proposes  to  develop  CIS  guidance  for  Member 
States that wish to take up this option.

Plugging the leaks
Leakage  rates  vary  enormously  between  and 
within  Member  States.  But  in  some  places,  as 
much as 50 % of water resources are being lost 
before  they  reach  the  tap.  The  Commission  be-
lieves that a case-by-case approach is necessary 
to  evaluate  the  environmental  and  economic 

benefits  of  cutting  leakage.  The  water  industry 
will  play  an  essential  role  in  developing  and 
spreading examples of best practice in Sustainable 
Economic  Leakage  Levels  (SELL),  and  in  agreeing 
a strategic vision for water infrastructure in a world 
of climate change and ever-scarcer resources. 

Drought observatory
Water scarcity and drought have become growing 
problems in many parts of Europe over the last 
30  years,  costing  hundreds  of  billions  of  euros. 
Governments  need  data  and  indicators  in  order 
to  set  up  efficient  early-warning  systems.  The 
Commission’s Joint Research Centre has launched 
a European Drought Observatory to monitor devel-
opments and publish online forecasts while encour-
aging Member States to factor drought risk into 
their RBMPs. 

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A   W A T E R   BL U E P R I N T  F O R   EU R O P E

 
Satellite technology
Member  States’  ability  to  control  and  allocate 
their own resources is undermined by illegal ab-
straction. Satellite mapping of river basins offers 
new  opportunities  for  putting  an  end  to  what 
amounts to the theft of water. The Global Moni-
toring for Environment and Security programme 
(GMES/COPERNICUS) can help Member States to 
identify  irrigated  zones  that  fail  to  match  legal 
water-use permits. 

Europe is an active partner in building the Global 
Earth  Observation  System  of  Systems  (GEOSS), 
which  will  gather  and  share  comprehensive, 
long-term  observation  data  on  the  water  cycle, 
including  precipitation,  snow  cover,  evaporation 
and water use, permitting better management of 
resources. 

Innovation through Partnership

Europe needs to seize opportunities for innovation. The EU currently 
holds 30 % of the world market in water services, but competition 
is fierce in a sector expected to be worth 1 trillion euros by 2020, 
and to double in size by 2030.

In  2012,  the  Commission  launched  a  European  Innovation 
Partnership (EIP) on Water and one on Agricultural Productivity and 
Sustainability,  designed  to  encourage  private  investment  and  get 
good ideas on to the market. An increase of just 1 % in the rate of 
growth  of  Europe’s  water  industry  could  generate  10 000-20 000 
new jobs. The Partnership will help develop networks and facilitate 
the spread of innovative solutions to water challenges, including by 
means of web platforms, with the aim of making Europe a global 
market leader in water-related innovation and technology.

“I  have  been  inspired  by  the  way  in  which  so  many  different 
stakeholders have participated in the development of the Euro-
pean Innovation Partnership on Water through the various public 
consultations and discussions.”

Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for the Environment

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‘Something more’: water should flow through  
all areas of EU policy-making

Many  EU  policy  areas  have  an  impact  on  water 
status and need to make water policy objectives 
an integral part of their planning. They include ag-
riculture,  fisheries,  energy,  disaster  management, 
transport, and funding policies. 

Agriculture 
Water management needs to play a key role in the 
EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP), and farmers 
must comply with water policy. Agriculture accounts 
for  24 %  of  water  abstraction  in  Europe,  and  only 
about one-third of this goes back into the environ-
ment, so it is a crucial sector. The Commission’s pro-
posals for CAP reform would favour the take-up of 
measures that protect water resources (e.g. crop di-
versification and the identification of areas excluded 
from cultivation) while also providing funding to pro-
mote more efficient irrigation, if coupled with cuts in 
water consumption, in line with the WFD objectives.  

The EU’s cross-compliance mechanism, which forms 
part  of  the  CAP  and  makes  direct  payments  to 
farmers conditional upon the application of environ-
mental,  animal  and  plant  health  standards,  could 
also  be  expanded  to  include  some  requirements 
from the WFD and the Directive on Sustainable Use 
of Pesticides. This could be a powerful incentive, at 
farm level, to reduce pressures on water. 

“We must act to include water 
policy  objectives  much  more 
into other policies.”

Janez Potočnik,  
European Commissioner for the Environment

Green infrastructure and natural 
water-retention measures
The Blueprint calls for action to mitigate the impact 
of flood controls, energy generation, navigation and 
agriculture  by  preserving  or  restoring  –  also  with 
EU  support  –  natural  green  infra structures,  such 
as  flood  plains,  wetlands  and  buffer  strips  along 
river  banks.  These  help  to  store  water,  prevent 
soil erosion and provide a stable environment for 
biodiversity and ecosystems, in turn supporting the 
objectives of the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy. 

Where hydropower or navigation structures, such 
as dams or locks, interrupt natural water courses, 
fish  passes  and  lifts  should  be  put  in  place  to 
enable  migrating  fish  to  breed.  Reducing  soil 
sealing and preserving small bodies of water, like 
fish ponds, also contributes to the prevention of 
flooding and erosion. 

Cohesion and Structural Funds
The Blueprint highlights the importance of funding 
water-management  projects,  including  natural 
water-retention  measures,  water  reuse  and 
leakage reduction, through the EU Cohesion and 
Structural Funds (CSF), and European Investment 
Bank  loans.  It recalls the Commission’s proposal 
that Member States should first put their RBMPs 
in  place  and  introduce  pricing  policies,  before 
they can access support for water projects under 
the CSF. Moreover, new water-supply infrastructure 
should  only  be  developed  as  a  last  resort,  once 
other  efforts  to  reduce  demand  and  maximise 
efficiency have been exhausted. 

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‘Something new’: plugging the gaps

The EU’s legislation on water is already extensive 
and well developed. But the Blueprint also identi-
fies areas where more work is needed. To this end, 
it focuses on two main issues:

Furthermore,  to  foster  water  efficiency  in  con-
struction,  the  Commission  decided  to  develop 
voluntary EU Ecolabel and Green Public Procure-
ment criteria for building materials and products. 

Water reuse: EU quality  
standards
The  Commission  is  also  examining  options  for 
water  reuse:  recycling  the  outflow  from  waste-
water  treatment  or  industrial  installations  for 
irrigation  or  industrial  use.  This  has  a  relatively 
low  environmental  impact  (compared  with  de-
salinisation  or  water  transfer),  and  yet  is  not 
common in the EU. Among the obstacles are the 
absence of common EU environmental and health 
standards for reused water, and potential barriers 
to  the  free  movement  of  agricultural  products 
grown  in  this  way,  such  as  consumer  or  farmer 
resistance.

By  2015,  the  Commission  plans  to  propose 
EU-wide  measures  to  encourage  water  reuse. 
It is considering all options including a regula-
tion  on  common  standards.  This  would  help  to 
allay public fears about health risks from eating 
food  crops  irrigated  with  reused  water,  and 
could go a long way towards easing pressure in 
water-stressed areas. 

Water efficiency in buildings and 
the Ecodesign Directive
Through the Ecodesign Directive, the Commission 
is  seeking  ways  to  make  products  more  water- 
and energy-efficient. The aim is not only to save 
water, but also to develop new technologies that 
will  generate  jobs  and  growth.  In  December 
2012,  the  Commission  published  the  Ecodesign 
working plan for 2012-2014, covering an extended 
list  of  12  priority  product  groups,  including 
water-related  products  (such  as  taps,  showers 
and  toilets),  for  which  eco-design  standards  or 
other measures could be developed.

This option offers several advantages: it is straight-
forward for consumers who will in future find on 
the  market only more efficient water devices and 
products, clearly labelled on the basis of their per-
formance. It is based on a progressive approach, as 
it does not require retrofitting existing buildings, but 
gradually replacing old products with more efficient 
ones. It will yield considerable energy savings as a 
large proportion of the water households consume 
is heated. Energy savings estimated for taps and 
showers  are  equivalent  to  10.75  Mtoe  in  2020 
and around twice that in 2030. These savings are 
in turn equivalent to around 3.5 % of total resi-
dential energy use, or around 1 % of total energy 
use, in the EU-27.

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Cross-cutting measures: more knowledge …

The Blueprint aims to strengthen the knowledge 
base for decision-making. The Water Information 
System for Europe (WISE) is already an impressive 
resource, but sometimes information is scattered 
and  not  easily  accessible  to  policy-makers. 
Therefore,  the  Commission  proposes  that  WISE 
be better linked and fully interoperable with nation-
al  databases,  helping  to  build  a  comprehensive 
picture of aquatic ecosystems.

The Commission also plans to harmonise reporting 
cycles under different water directives and facilitate 
access to key statistics, all with a view to strength-
ening the link between science and policy-making.

New research developments under the research 
programmes  FP7  and  Horizon  2020  will  con-
tribute to a better understanding of how our water 
ecosystems function. 

… and the right tools
The EU Joint Research Centre is developing a hydro-
economic  model  to  facilitate  impact  assessment 
and  allow  water  managers  to  calculate  the  cost-
effectiveness of measures in their RBMPs. 

The  Blueprint  proposes  a  simple,  voluntary  peer-
review system to improve the governance of water 
management. River basin district authorities would 
share their draft RBMPs with others, allowing for an 
exchange of good ideas and boosting the quality of 
plans overall. The Commission will be available to 
give advice.  

To  tackle  problems  like  over-allocation  and  illegal 
abstraction, the Commission also proposes working 
with Member States to promote compliance and to 
establish more effective inspection regimes. 

What about economic  
recovery?
The  Water  Blueprint  stresses  that  water  man-
agement  is  not  just  about  environmental  pro-
tection, health and well-being. It influences growth 
and prosperity, too. EU water policy objectives and 
measures also help to ensure that Europe’s water 
industry  can  develop  and  fulfil  its  potential,  and 
that all the other economic sectors that depend on 
the availability and quality of water can prosper, 
generating growth and job opportunities. 

In  Europe,  there  are  9 000  small  and  medium-
sized enterprises, providing 600 000 jobs in water 
utilities.  Other  water-related  sectors  offer  the 
potential  for  green  growth,  including  in  water-
using industries and technology development. 

Europe  needs  to  harness  green  growth  and  
become more resource-efficient in order to make 
a  sustainable  recovery  from  the  economic  
crisis and adapt to future climate change.

The Blueprint is closely linked to the EU’s 2020 
strategy and is the ‘water milestone’ on the 2011 
Resource  Efficiency  Roadmap.  Its  objectives 
support all three strands of the strategy: smart, 
sustainable and inclusive growth. Resource ef-
ficiency  needs  to  form  an  integral  part  of  EU 
economic  policy  within  the  European  Semester 
governance  structure,  helping  to  avoid,  for  ex-
ample,  unnecessary  public  subsidies.  Therefore, 
the  Commission  will  look  into  water-related 
aspects in the Annual Growth Survey and into 
country-specific  recommendations,  where  ap-
propriate, for individual Member States, in the 
framework of the European Semester process. 

21

22

Water worldwide

The  Blueprint  focuses  mainly  on  protecting  
Europe’s waters. But water is also a global con-
cern, regardless of frontiers, and closely linked 
to  other  problems,  such  as  food  security,  
desertification,  climate  change  and  natural 
and man-made disasters. 

The  Blueprint  reiterates  the  EU’s  commitments 
under international accords such as Agenda 21, 
the  Rio  Conventions  on  desertification,  climate 
change  and  biodiversity,  and  the  Millennium 
Development  Goals  (MDGs),  as  well  as  last 
year’s United Nations Rio+20 conference. 

In 2010, the UN declared access to safe drinking 
water and basic sanitation services to be a human 
right, and the 2012 Rio+20 Declaration reaffirmed 
this right. 

The  global  community  has  met  the  2015  MDG 
target of halving the proportion of people without 
sustainable access to safe  drinking water – but 

Reaching the people

this has not resolved drinking water access prob-
lems  in  many  African  countries  –  and  2.5  billion 
people worldwide still lack adequate sanitation.

Population growth and other factors will increase 
global water demand by 35-60 % by 2025, with 
potentially serious implications worldwide.

The  Blueprint  proposes  that  EU  development 
co-operation on water should continue to priori-
tise access to safe drinking water and sanitation, 
sustainable  agricultural  and  improving  water 
governance  through  integrated  water  resources 
management  (IWRM)  at  river-basin  level,  to 
foster peace and political stability. 

“When the well’s dry, we know 
the worth of water.”

Benjamin Franklin, US statesman (1706-1790)

Good  communication  is  vital  to  the  Blueprint  proposals:  the  Commission  is  currently 
conducting an awareness-raising campaign to encourage water users to behave responsibly 
and sustainably.2

2)  See http://www.generationawake.eu/

23

24

What next?

The  Water  Blueprint  has  set  out  what  needs 
to  be  done  to  safeguard  Europe’s  waters  over 
the  coming  years.  Successful  implementation 
of these measures will depend to a large extent 
on  the  commitment  of  Member  States  and 
stakeholders, and on the WFD CIS. 

The  Commission  has  pledged  to  monitor  this 
process through an updated scoreboard. If vol-
untary  approaches  turn  out  to  be  inadequate, 
it  will  consider  amending  the  WFD,  by  2019, 
to introduce additional legal obligations. 

An overview of the Blueprint proposals

Blueprint objectives

Proposed measures

Efficiency incentive water pricing  
(including cost-recovery)

Water-use reduction in agriculture

Reduction of illegal abstraction/impoundments

Awareness of water consumption

Use of natural water-retention measures  
(green infrastructure), also to reduce  
drought and flood risk

CIS guidance +  
EU enforcement of current regulation + 
precondition under CSF as of 2014

Precondition for some irrigation projects  
(rural development) as of 2014

National enforcement  
(relying also on satellite technology)

Reinforcing inspections

Cross-compliance under the CAP

Awareness campaigns

Labelling and certification schemes

CIS guidance +  
EU funding (CAP and CSF) as of 2014

Efficient water appliances in buildings

Ecodesign, Ecolabel, green public procurement

Reduction of leakages

Water reuse

Best practice + EU funding

(Possible) regulation in 2015 +  
EU funding as of 2014

25

Improvement of governance

Peer reviews as of 2014

Implementation of water accounts/ecological 
flow. Application of target setting

CIS guidance by 2014

Reduction of flood risk

Reduction of drought risk

EU enforcement of current regulation

EU enforcement of current regulation,  
European Drought Observatory

Better calculation of costs and benefits  
(together with water pricing)

CIS guidance

Better knowledge base

Interoperability of databases (WISE)  
by 2015 +  
adjustment to reporting and statistical  
requirements under EU law

Support to developing countries

EU funding

Tackling pollution

Cross-cutting

Enforcement of current regulation +  
cross-compliance for the WFD

Innovation Partnerships, EU Semester  
recommendations, EU funds

26

A   W A T E R   BL U E P R I N T  F O R   EU R O P E

Further reading and links

European Commission DG Environment: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/index_en.htm

Water Blueprint: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/blueprint/index_en.htm 

WFD facts and figures: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-framework/facts_figures/index_en.htm

Water Information System for Europe (WISE): http://water.europa.eu/

European Innovation Partnership on water: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/innovationpartnership/ 

European Environment Agency: http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/european-waters-synthesis-2012

Joint Research Centre: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/jrc/index.cfm?id=10

Horizon 2020: http://ec.europa.eu/research/horizon2020/index_en.cfm 

27

European Commission

A Water Blueprint for Europe

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union

2013 — 27 pp. — 21 × 21 cm

ISBN 978-92-79-30543-6

doi:10.2779/12145

To order the publication, which is available free of charge while stocks last:

For a single copy: 
via the EU Bookshop – the on-line access to European Union publications

http://bookshop.europa.eu 

For several copies: 
via the nearest national Europe Direct information centre:

http://europa.eu/europedirect/meet_us/index_en.htm 

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doi:10.2779/12145