Water's Crucial Role and Current Crisis In her keynote address at the 35th World Water Week, European Commissioner Jessika Roswall highlighted the mounting pressures on the planet's water systems due to climate change, environmental degradation, and biodiversity loss. She stressed that water crises—ranging from floods to droughts—are no longer future problems but current challenges affecting people, businesses, and ecosystems in Europe and beyond.
Ambitious Strategy for a Sustainable Water Future Commissioner Roswall unveiled the European Water Resilience Strategy, a comprehensive roadmap built on three pillars: restoring and protecting the water cycle, fostering a water-smart economy, and ensuring clean and affordable water access for all. This includes fully implementing existing laws, promoting nature-based solutions, and setting clear water consumption reduction targets for 2030 under the Water Efficiency First recommendation. Additionally, the strategy focuses on vulnerable regions to combat inequalities in access.
Institutional Mechanisms and Stakeholder Engagement To support these efforts, Roswall announced plans for Water Resilience Forums in 2027 and 2029 to track progress, emphasizing inclusive governance involving Member States, regions, cities, businesses, and civil society. The strategy also prioritizes five enablers: governance, finance, digitalisation, innovation, and security.
Balancing Economic Growth and Environmental Protection From a business perspective, the strategy aims to boost competitiveness and innovation, positioning European companies as leaders in sustainable water technologies. However, the initiative requires increased funding and coordination, posing challenges for national authorities. Civil society stands to benefit from improved water access and ecosystem health, while EU taxpayers could face budget reallocations to fund these measures.
Global Reach and Diplomacy Roswall also framed water resilience as a global issue, highlighting EU efforts via the Global Gateway to improve water infrastructure and diplomacy worldwide, aiming to address transboundary water conflicts and advance Sustainable Development Goal 6.
The commissioner’s speech signals a shift toward stronger EU-level coordination and investment in water management, aiming to balance environmental sustainability with economic competitiveness while addressing social inequalities in access.
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