More than 50 high-level experts from across the EU water sector gathered in Brussels on Monday for the first meeting of the new Water Resilience Stakeholder Platform, as efforts to strengthen EU water resilience move forward.
The platform was launched jointly by the European Commission, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the European Committee of the Regions. The European Water Academy is also being launched on Monday afternoon.
Both initiatives form part of the implementation of the EU Water Resilience Strategy, which aims to achieve water resilience across Europe by 2050. The launch comes days after Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a new European Water Initiative in her State of the Union address.
Focus on efficiency and water reuse
The Commission said the latest measures come after a summer of extreme heat and drought, highlighting the effects of changes in the water cycle on society and the economy.
Farmers are facing declining water resources, while energy producers have had to reduce output because of water shortages, according to the Commission.
The new platform brings together representatives from businesses and the water sector, civil society organisations, regional and local authorities and EU Member State governments.
Its work will focus on selected priorities including digitalisation, water efficiency and opportunities to accelerate water reuse. The platform is also intended to identify barriers to implementing the strategy and develop practical solutions.
The platform will meet twice a year, except in years when a Water Resilience Forum is held.
Water Academy also launched
The European Water Academy will focus on skills, research, innovation and technology transfer in the water sector.
According to the Commission’s Joint Research Centre, the academy is designed to help develop a new generation of water-sector professionals while supporting technology transfer and a competitive European water sector.
The two initiatives are intended to support the EU’s wider water resilience objectives, including protecting the water cycle, building a water-smart economy and ensuring access to safe and affordable water and sanitation.
EU institutions to jointly lead platform
The platform is being jointly led by Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy Jessika Roswall, EESC President Seamus Boland and European Committee of the Regions Vice-President Carlos Moedas.
Roswall said the summer’s extreme heat and drought had highlighted the importance of the EU’s water agenda, while Boland pointed to the EESC’s support for water as a strategic European priority through the EU Blue Deal.
Moedas said the strategy needed to be translated into investment, innovation and action at local level, with cities and regions playing a greater role.
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