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Relaunching the Scientists' statement on EU water pollution standards
 We are pleased to relaunch on the EFFS website an updated version of a statement of support for a swift and adequate update of the EU water pollution standards under the Environmental Quality Standards Directive (EQSD), also amending the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Groundwater Directive (GWD).
The statement has been signed by 534 individual scientists/scientific organisations around the world, concerned about freshwaters health. Freshwater habitats are biodiversity hotspots and provide society with a wide range of ecosystem services. But due to human impact, including pollution, they are now among the most threatened habitats on Earth.
Ahead of the 2nd interinstitutional dialogues (April 7th), this statement has been addressed by email to the main relevant EU policymakers to ask to reject proposals that undermine the Water Framework Directive and its environmental objectives, and instead urgently adopt up-to-date rules, reflecting the state of the current scientific knowledge to address chemical water pollution. Unfortunately, no deal has been reached yet, and negotiations are still in place. A final trilogue is tentatively scheduled for the 15th July and if a deal is not reached between the EU institutions in July, there is a big risk that the new water pollution standards will not be adopted in time for the next River Basin Management Plans (2028-2033).
This initiative has been coordinated by the European Environmental Bureau (EEB).
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