Water 'Blueprint' ter veiligstelling van de Europese watervoorziening besproken op conferentie (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Cypriotisch voorzitterschap Europese Unie 2e helft 2012 i, gepubliceerd op dinsdag 27 november 2012.

Proposals for action in the “Blueprint to Safeguard Europe's Water Resources” were the focal points of the EU Water Blueprint Conference, which took place at the ‘Filoxenia’ Conference Centre in Lefkosia (Nicosia) on November 26-27, 2012. More than 185 representatives from EU Member States, stakeholder groups and the European Commission participated at the Conference, to discuss the future of the EU’s water policy.

The event was jointly organised by the European Commission and the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

During the EU Water Blueprint Conference, a debate was held on the implementation of the policy proposals of the Blueprint, which was adopted by the Commission on November 14. The main topics for discussion were:

  • Land use and ecological status vulnerability
  • Water infrastructure and ways of tackling water pollution
  • EU water efficiency, especially accounting, allocating, using, and recovering costs of water
  • Global aspects of water policy
  • Cross-cutting solutions to further the objectives of EU water policy.

The Conference highlighted the need for the Blueprint to serve as an instrument to help the EU and its Member States achieve the Water Framework Directive’s goals. This is expected to be done, mainly, by ensuring the sustainability of all activities that impact water, thereby contributing to securing the availability of good-quality water for sustainable and equitable water use and the ecosystems. The proposed actions of the Blueprint are also expected to contribute positively to the goal of halting the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystem services, as well as to the efforts in combating desertification and adapting to climate change.