INCOPA input to the Commission’s water legistations consultation

The Commission has officially launched a fitness check of the Water Framework Directive and the Floods Directive and  fitness check of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive.

The overall aim of the fitness checks is to assess whether the legislation is still fit for purpose and to identify opportunities for improvements. This will include an assessment of the potential for regulatory simplification and burden reduction. INCOPA provided input to both during November 2017.

INCOPA considers that the Water Framework Directive (WFD) is a key piece of EU environment policy and it should be maintained, while its implementation needs to be reinforced and supported. We therefore welcome the European Commission’s decision to evaluate and review the directive at this time.

INCOPA also thinks that after 26 years of implementation the current UWWTD has proven to be a good tool to manage and improve the quality of waste water discharges. We share the will of the Commission to assess the five criteria mentioned (effectiveness, coherence, efficiency, relevance and EU-value) and agree with the methodology proposed.