Blog by Marion Le Nabec, Political Consultant for Environment and Sustainability
The European Water Resilience Strategy was published by the European Commission on June 3, 2025. This strategy comes amid increasing calls for more sustainable management of water resources across the EU and as extreme weather events around the world directly linked to climate change become more frequent, notably devastating floods and droughts.
The Strategy is based around three objectives:
- Restore the water cycle to ensure a sustainable water supply
- Strengthen a water-smart economy and support the European water industry
- Ensure access to clean and affordable water and sanitation
The first objective focuses on the implementation of the already existing legislation, notably by setting up structured dialogues with the Member States on the Water Framework Directive and the Flood Management Directive. The Commission will also revise the Marine Strategy Framework Directive by 2027 to achieve more coherence with other legislation and fewer reporting requirements. The Strategy also points to the nexus of water resources across all sectors – for example in the Vision for Agriculture and Food, where farmers will be incentivised to maintain healthy soils for better water retention. The pressing issue of drinking water was also emphasised as there are growing calls to address chemical pollution, especially PFAS, in the water supply.
The second objective underlines the necessity to achieve greater water efficiency, calling for efforts to enhance water efficiency by at least 10% by 2030. The Strategy also recognised the need to limit the water consumption of the industrial and digital transformation, as the EU’s strategic autonomy sector (batteries, semiconductors, datacentres, etc.) utilises a lot of water. To address this, the Commission presented a Recommendation on the guiding principles of water efficiency first, calling for efficient water resources management and more cross-border cooperation from the Member States. A review of the Water Reuse Regulation by 2028, support for infrastructure modernisation, Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) incentives for farmers towards better water management and pilot projects to promote water efficiency in industry and energy sectors will also complement the Recommendation.
The third objective addresses the need to access clean and affordable water for all and to empower consumers and other users. Ensuring the human right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation will guide decisions in the water management sector. Consumers should be empowered to save water, through initiatives such as the EU Ecolabel, Ecodesign Regulation and Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
Simplification of the EU rules to contribute to their implementation is at the heart of the EU water legislation, as the Commission aims to evaluate and simplify the Nitrates Directive, the Water Framework Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. The Commission will evaluate an updated study of costs and the sectors impacted by the extended producer responsibility system of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive.
The Commission called for significant additional public and private investments for achieving progress on water resilience, emphasising that “investments must cover all the stages of water management and be planned in an integrated manner, factoring in future climate scenarios” as well as new water technologies. The recent Cohesion Policy mid-term review sets out an exceptional package of measures for Members States and regions to invest in water measures. The future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), cooperation with the European Investment Bank and private investment are also crucial tools to support the uptake of the Water Resilience Strategy. The Commission will adopt a Roadmap for Nature Credits this year to leverage more private financing.
A focus on digitalisation and artificial intelligence will complete the Strategy, notably by developing and implementing the Destination Earth and EU Digital Twin of the Ocean applications for water resilience, developing an EU-wide Action Plan on digitalisation in the water sector including an EU initiative on Smart metering for all, and launching a Copernicus Water Thematic Hub. Research and innovation will also be pushed to stimulate competitiveness and close the knowledge gaps.
Next steps
In December 2025, the Commission will convene a biennial Water Resilience Forum, where EU stakeholders and interested parties will come together to take stock of the progress made. In 2027, the Commission will carry out a mid-term review of the implementation of the flagship actions outlined in the Strategy, as well as the first evaluation of the uptake of the Recommendation on Water Efficiency First.
Stakeholders’ reactions
Many stakeholders reacted to the publication of the Water Resilience Strategy, which garnered mixed reactions. Many welcomed the emphasis put on water efficiency, as well as the promotion of nature-based solutions. A majority of stakeholders recognised the urgency to put water on the political agenda.
Several stakeholders criticised the non-binding nature of the strategy, the lack of a dedicated budget to support water infrastructure, the insufficient action on agricultural and chemical pollution, and the overwhelming focus on downstream action.
Background
The European Water Resilience Strategy was announced by President Von der Leyen in her Political Guidelines 2024-2029 and in the Commission Work Programme 2025, emphasising the need to take “a source-to-sea approach and consider the widely different challenges in our regions and in sectors to ensure that sources of water are properly managed, scarcity and pollution are addressed, and to increase the competitiveness of our water industry”.
The European Parliament adopted, in May 2025, its own-initiative report, in which Rapporteur Thomas Bajada (S&D, MT) emphasised the importance of integrating “water quality, quantity, security, infrastructure, technology and management aspects and includes the restoration of the water cycle as a key element, as it underpins economic activities, ensures resource availability and contributes to climate regulation”.