Water can become unsafe and unfit for human use or irrigation when certain pollutants (also called 'substances of concern'), such as pesticides, fertilisers, chemicals and salts enter the groundwater, as well as surface water bodies at levels above certain thresholds. The current legislation lists several polluting substances and groups of substances, as well as quality standards, or threshold values for each, that EU countries need to respect. However, this list of pollutants is incomplete as it omits some emerging substances with significant negative effects on the environment and human health. At the same time, some of the still listed substances are no longer present in significant quantities in the environment, and for others, the standards do not correspond to the latest evidence. Therefore, the current legislation needs to be improved on aspects such as such as implementing rules, integrating water objectives into other policies, chemical pollution, administrative simplification and digitalisation.
maintains that pollution must always first and foremost be addressed at source, but recognises urban wastewater treatment as an important last filter to protect receiving waters with benefits for the environment, human health and society;
supports that the water affordability should be a priority for all Member States and strongly supports the proposal for an Extended Producer Responsibility that would require producers to cover the cost of removing micropollutants resulting from their products from wastewater, but exemptions must be strictly limited for it to be efficient
considers that the Directive should introduce a cap on the occurrence of sewer overflows and reporting to the public should give the full picture of the pollutant load carried by overflows.
The EESC welcomes the Communication and agrees with the Commission on the need for a swift agreement ahead of the Member States' budgetary processes for 2024;
stresses that fiscal structural plans have to ensure that debt-to-GDP ratios are put on a downward path or stay at prudent levels;
insists that, for a reformed framework to be successful, ownership of the process is key. It is therefore important to develop further measures that could be taken to enhance ownership of the rules.
The EESC calls for a moderate, realistic and balanced approach while addressing inflation and the demand for energy supply;
emphasises the need for fair working conditions, effective competition and better consideration of civil society concerns in order to improve the functioning of the single market;
urges the Commission to invest in better communication with citizens in order to avoid misunderstandings about the European project.
The EESC believes that the EU's plan for a green transition does not sufficiently take into account the effect of the transition on jobs;
suggests that labour market policies should, amongst other things, also be linked to social welfare policies;
believes that in most countries, social partners are not sufficiently involved in devising and implementing policies related to the digital and green transition.
The EESC states that the transformation of the European labour market requires good understanding of what type of skills are needed for future labour market transformations;
believes that skills development and effective implementation of the right and access to lifelong learning must be an integral part of broader economic growth strategies and recovery and resilience plans;
underlines that SMEs should be encouraged to work in networks that interact, to cooperate in sharing costs for research into skills needs and pool their capacities.
a simplified registration process with a uniform, pan-EU format;
periodic impact assessments ofSTR activities. They should be carried out by local authorities to evaluate impacts on the local tourism potential, the life of local residents and the housing market, the cost of living, employment, businesses and pollution in the area;
a system of insurance policies to be taken up by hosts as an alternative to authorisation criteria. These insurance policies, which would cover the bulk of risks arising from STR activities, would leave it to insurers to verify hosts' compliance with the rules.
a standardised approach steered by the European institutions regarding the level of information required for all STR activities. This would help national and local authorities take decisions in line with the interests of the communities concerned, facilitate data sharing, boost compliance and enable authorities to take appropriate action based on analyses at EU and local level.
