With its opinion the EESC calls on the European institutions to start addressing water as a priority and develop an "EU Blue Deal": a radical effort to anticipate needs, preserve water resources and adequately manage related challenges through a comprehensive and coordinated roadmap.

Clean water is one of our most precious resources. It is crucial for the functioning of ecosystems and our society as well as for socio-economic activity. Since 2022, when a number of scientific studies found microplastics in the human bloodstream and in breast milk for the first time, the need for urgent, decisive action has no longer been questioned. Pollution has gone too far, but we don't know how far, and our knowledge on the subject is still at an early stage.

The proposed Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive is very constructive and well-structured. It has the potential to bring the EU rules up to date by addressing remaining sources of untreated waste water and new pollutants, as well as improving the energy and circular economy aspects of wastewater treatment in line with the Green Deal and the digitalisation of Europe.

The proposal extends the scope of the directive to cover agglomerations from 1 000 population equivalents (p. e.), meaning that small towns will also have to collect and treat urban wastewater, and can seek EU funding to do so.

The EESC strongly supports the implementation of the "polluter pays" principle to ensure the affordability of water services and to cover the cost of removing micropollutants from the wastewater. Urban run-off and sewer overflows are a hotspot for pollution, including antimicrobial resistance genes, pharmaceutical residues and toxic substances that put aquatic life and human health at risk, and should be collected and properly treated before being discharged into receiving waters.

With our opinion, we call on the European institutions to include wastewater in a larger vision, and to start addressing water as a priority and develop an "EU Blue Deal": a radical effort to anticipate needs, preserve water resources and adequately manage related challenges through a comprehensive and coordinated roadmap, setting ambitious targets and actions linked to agreed milestones.