EU looks at water strategy as conflict grows over agricultural use of large reservoirs

4 months ago 15

The re-elected president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced “a strategy for sustainable management of water” at a time when 21 EU ministers called for water to be a top priority on the European agenda and France was set to see demonstrations against large water reservoirs for irrigation.

“We must do more to ensure that our farmers are better prepared” for climate change, von der Leyen announced in her speech preceding the vote in the European Parliament on Thursday (18 July).

“That is why I will present a plan for agriculture to address the need to adapt to climate change and, in parallel, a strategy for sustainable management of the precious resource of water.”

The announcement came after the environment ministers from 21 EU countries (all except Finland, Sweden, Czechia, Latvia, Hungary, Ireland) called for an EU water security strategy, in a letter seen by Euractiv and sent to the Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič and the Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra on Wednesday.

The ministers called for measures “to ensure the availability and security of water supplies” through “nature-based solutions” and “adequate and effective funding” for research and innovation activities in the water sector.

According to a report by the EU patent office (EPO) published on Thursday, Europe leads in innovative water technologies, accounting for 40% of inventions in the field on the global scale. Germany, France, UK, Netherlands, and Italy “rank first in Europe for patenting water inventions”, an EPO press release stated.

The ministers stressed the need “to ensure that water is an absolute priority on the European agenda over the coming years, and to make the EU’s water management objectives a reality”.

The ministers also insisted on the “participation of citizens and stakeholders” and “public engagement in all actions”.

Tensions in France

In south-west France, major demonstrations are set to take place on 19 and 20 July in Deux-Sèvres against large water reservoirs – the so-called “mega-basins”. These reservoirs for irrigation can cover an area of up to 18 hectares and store water in winter for use in irrigation in summer.

Between 6,000 and 8,000 people are expected to gather and protest against the construction of the reservoir and the authorities expect clashes with the police, as it has been the case in previous demonstrations.

Opponents accuse the system of devastating the environment, as the basin will be used to store rainwater in winter, but also to draw on deep groundwater in the event of a shortage. Over 450 farmers – mainly wheat growers – will have access to it.

“Access to water is a huge issue, but we are against privatising water with public money,” the climate activist and now Member of the European Parliament (LFI, The Left) Emma Fourreau, told Euractiv. She will be travelling on Saturday to support the organisers.

The French government announced the building of 100 new basins in France by the end of the year to guarantee continued access to water. The new agricultural policy law – currently being discussed in the French Parliament – will protect these infrastructures in the name of the “major general interest” of French agriculture.

In 2021, French Green MEPs submitted a petition to the European Parliament’s PETI Committee, pointing out that the basins contravened European law, in particular the Water Framework Directive (WFD).

The European Commission said it was going to take “this complex case very seriously”, urging France to present the impact of the financial and environmental costs of the projects, while warning against any “excessive abstraction” of water from the aquifers.