European Economic
and Social Committee
EU Blue Deal: How to build a Water-Smart Economy for a water-resilient Europe?
On 10 June 2024, CCMI and Water Europe organised an online seminar "EU Blue Deal: How to build a Water-Smart Economy for a water-resilient Europe?" in the framework of the EU Green Week.
The event discussed many practical solutions and recommendations based on the EESC call for an EU Blue Deal, as well as Water Europe's Water-Smart Society. It underlined the need for a comprehensive approach to water, as a top political priority for the European Union, at a time when the new political mandate of the Union is taking shape.
In his welcome speech, Durk Krol, executive Director at Water Europe, explained the concept of a water-smart society: In order to address our shared responsibility [over water], we could take the example of an orchestra, where you have many different musical groups working together, each musical group playing different instruments... In order for it to work you need a conductor. We need a conductor at the political level. At the European level that could be a Vice-President for Water, at the National level a minister and the regional level a mayor.
EESC President Oliver Röpke, in his video message, called on the next European Commission to treat water as a top priority: Water, as we all know, is vital. The EU Blue Deal is a flagship initiative of the EESC for a good reason. There is real urgency to address the water crisis, and our Committee believes that this can only be achieved with a standalone, top political priority, which integrates water into all EU policies. The EESC will therefore continue to call for an ambitious EU policy on water.
In his keynote speech, Pietro De Lotto, President of the CCMI and EESC coordinator on the EU Blue Deal noted: Considering the vital role of water and the magnitude of the water challenges we are facing, we believe that water resilience and decarbonisation have to be addressed with the same determination, and the EU therefore needs two complementary policies, on an equal footing. Water resilience and competitiveness go hand in hand. It is time for an EU Blue Deal.
Lidia Arthur Brito, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences at UNESCO, very much welcomed the EESC's EU Blue Deal approach: The Blue Deal stands aligned and complementary to the EU Green Deal and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Water resilience challenges should be addressed in a comprehensive manner and be part of a separate strategic policy, as the EU Blue Deal proposes. For instance, AI development should contribute to the EU Blue Deal principle no 1, which mentions easily accessible and reliable water data. UNESCO supports its Member States in building a water smart and resilient future, hence we share the proposed EU Blue Deal holistic approach, which could transform the economy, business models and jobs, while respecting the environment.
Bernard De Potter, Water Director of Flanders, emphasised the need for better collaboration, shared responsibility and a holistic approach: We note that there is broad support for the recommendation that water resilience should be a priority. We need a holistic and systemic approach to address water challenges. In particular, we need a sound common framework to guarantee a level playing field and actions to stress the importance of the value of water, while breaking the silos e.g., in data management. Water resilience is important for the EU economy and developing new business models, whilst taking into account also the social aspects.
In the panel discussion moderated by Cecília Correia, Senior Water Solutions Manager at Bentley, Dr. Sara Stiernström, Product Manager at EasyMining, Thomas Ryan, Head of Agri-Sustainability & Customer Engagement at Tirlán and Céline Caroly, Environment Expert at France Chimie, shared views from their business sectors on how water can be integrated into concrete industrial strategies. They also discussed some of the main regulatory barriers to sustainable water management in their line of business and presented concrete tools and good practices showing how a water-smart economy can be fostered in Europe. In particular, the speakers highlighted the role of technologies and digital tools, the importance of accessible and harmonised data, as well as collaboration with different stakeholders.
Peter Kovacs, Water Director of Hungary, provided successful examples from the Danube River basin: We have achieved concrete results, as we have harmonised flood management planning across the entire Danube River. In Hungary for drought mitigation, we have created a monitoring network connected to the public website, available for citizens, farmers, where it is possible to see the predictions for few days ahead, enabling practical measures to prevent damages. We used to be living in an era, where water was taken for granted, but conditions have been changed, so we need to bring back the value of water into our policy planningto reach a resilient water management.
Florian Marin, EESC Member and Rapporteur on EU Blue Deal, emphasised the need for water efficiency for industries and securing quality jobs: Introducing a water strategy for industries with a sectoral approach, supporting them in becoming more water efficient with a data management system, leads to better competitiveness and quality, stable jobs. All industries and citizens have to understand the meaning and importance of water, and this is why we need to introduce water conditionalities in our policies together with the Blue Transition Fund.
The full recording of the seminar is available.