EU WATER LAW and POLICY

The protection of water quality was a priority in the first Action Programme of the European Communities on the environment in 1973 . Council Directive 75/440/EEC concerning the quality required of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water was thus the first piece of EU Water Legislation that would be followed by a series of others directives and regulations. European water policy is one of the original pillars of EU environmental policy (A). European water policy has a complex legal structure, even though the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/CE aims to rationalise it (B). In accordance with article 37 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and article 11 of the Treaty on the functioning of the EU, “a high level of environmental protection and the improvement of the quality of the environment must be integrated […] into the definition and implementation of the EU’s policies and activities”. The imperative contribution of other EU policies to the protection of water and aquatic ecosystems is one of the major challenges exacerbated by climate change (C).

A - An original pillar of EU environmental policy

“In each category of pollution, it is necessary to establish the level of action (local, regional, national, Community, international) that befits the type of pollution and the geographical zone to be protected should be sought” . Since 1973, the European environmental policy (and hence EU Water Policy) has built on the principle of the most appropriate level of decision-making (renamed principle of subsidiarity) and based on shared competences between the EU and the Member States (1). The European Water Legislation is also in line with the objectives of the EU’s environmental policy and the general objective of sustainable development (2). If the European institutions recognised the inextricable links between access to drinking water and sanitation and the right to life and human dignity, the right to water or even the right to a healthy environment are not explicitly recognised in the Fundamental Charter of fundamental rights or by the Court of Justice of EU (3). EU Water legislation is not the only legislation to ensure the protection of water resources and aquatic ecosystems. Other EC environmental legislation must contribute to an integrated and ecosystemic water protection (4).