Why Water needs a dedicated EU funding stream in the next long-term EU budget [or, my short contribution for World Water Day]

In recent months, I’ve had the opportunity to discuss a key question with EU policymakers and other stakeholders: should water (and water infrastructure) have its own dedicated EU funding stream in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) slated to start in 2028?

When debating this topic, I typically get asked three questions. In this short post, I will try to answer each of them in turn, knowing full well this will—at best—be just a first attempt to address a complex topic.

Question 1: EU funding frameworks like CEF Energy and CEF Transport typically concern projects that are cross-border in nature. What is the cross-border problem linked to water / water infrastructure that would be addressed with an EU Blue Fund or CEF for Water?

Many water bodies, such as rivers and aquifers, span multiple EU countries. Any upstream impacts will be felt downstream, regardless of borders – with big consequences for e.g. biodiversity conservation and climate resilience. Effective water management at EU level therefore requires solid cross-border cooperation and coordinated investments. This is best supported by a dedicated EU funding framework – not just to allocate funding per se, but also to set common objectives and provide the means for closer collaboration between national/regional/local initiatives. Looking at the future “architecture” of the MFF, we should not restrict the cross-border element to water infrastructure projects spanning more than one country; in fact, we have a big opportunity to take a broader view and address the EU water resilience challenge head-on. Let’s look forward, not backward!

Question 2: How would funding of water infrastructure at EU level benefit the overall objective of European strategic autonomy?

Water is not only essential for public health, agriculture, industry, and natural ecosystems – it is a critical resource that directly impacts the EU’s ability to compete globally in strategic sectors (e.g. semiconductors, data centers, critical raw materials). In addition, water resilience is vital to the EU’s geopolitical security in ways that are easy to forget. For example, water/energy/transportation infrastructure is a complex “system of systems”: it makes no sense to upgrade key roads and railways to address the pressing needs of military mobility, only for a flash flood to quickly render them unusable in a moment of crisis. Similar considerations extend to the EU electricity grid, where multimillion EUR investments into energy security can be wiped out if we do not plan properly for climate risk. Water management, climate resilience, and geopolitical security might seem like disconnected topics, but they are part of the same broad equation when it comes to EU strategic autonomy.

Question 3: How would an EU approach to water-related funding be preferable to a Member State-led one? Aren’t Member States better positioned to address this?

Water Europe recently published a study which concluded that “€255 billion for water supply and sanitation would be required by 2030 to ensure compliance with the Drinking Water Directive and the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and to enhance the efficiency of water supply systems”. At the same time, the European Environment Agency concluded in its State of Water report that [in 2021] only 37% of Europe's surface water bodies achieved a good or high ecological status, while only 29% achieved a good chemical status. Many actors at national level are operating at full capacity to address these challenges, but it is clear that national budgets and fragmented EU programs are not enough. To be clear, I am not arguing that Cohesion Funds should be weakened; but, when it comes to water, we need more coordinated EU action and funding in addition to the tools we already have. For instance, an EU framework would enable us—if the right incentives are put in place—to generate high-quality data and insights at scale through the use of digital technologies. This would, in turn, foster better planning at local, regional, national, and European levels.

As a final thought, everyone working on water-related topics seems to agree that we must single out water resilience as a key priority in the next long-term EU budget – regardless of the final MFF architecture we end up with.

Do you agree/disagree with the answers above? Happy to hear (and learn from) other views on this topic, either here or privately.

Water Europe European Water Association (EWA) Durk Krol Loïc Charpentier Madalena Lacerda Arthur G. Richard J. Vestner Cecília Correia Joe Lawson Thomas D. Krom Sandra DiMatteo Neda Simeonova Rodrigo Fernandes Saila Vicente Edita Kemzūraitė

#WaterWiseEU #WorldWaterDay #WaterManagement #MFF #resilience #climate