The economics of an EU blue deal

Background

The EESC (European Economic and Social Committee) has worked on an own-initiative opinion titled "The economics of an 'EU Blue Deal' – water-related investment needs in the EU.", providing a comprehensive set of conclusions and recommendations to promote sustainable water management and investment in the EU. The Committee emphasizes the importance of access to safe and clean water as a fundamental right for all citizens in the EU, and finds it unacceptable that some people still lack access to water within the EU.

The EESC calls for the development of specific standards on water usage in different economic sectors, the establishment of an EU Blue Deal (complementary to the EU Green Deal) and EU Water Agenda, the rationalization of water consumption through pricing differentiation, transparency in costs and prices, and public planning at a river basin level. The Committee also emphasize the importance of EU funds for sustainable water transition and urge Member States to prioritize water investment in reallocations within various programs.

Key points

In the opinion, the EESC proposes:

•    to considers access to safe, clean and quality water a fundamental right;

•    to develop an EU Blue Deal and an EU Water Agenda in close synergy with the EU Urban Agenda, the Ljubljana Agreement and the Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas;

•    to rationalise water consumption through the implementation of a price differentiation between consumption for domestic use and essential public services, and consumption for productive use, and a pricing system that effectively discourages unsustainable consumption while incentivising consumption for productive purposes. Water prices should be set according to the "polluter pays principle";

•    to establish a Blue Transition Fund in full complementarity with the Just Transition Fund, and to increase complementarity between European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), the Recovery and Resilience Facility, InvestEU, Interreg Europe and other funds;
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Additional information 

- EESC section: Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion (ECO)
- opinion type: Own-initiative opinion
- rapporteur: Florian MARIN (Workers - GR II / Romania)
- reference: ECO/611-EESC-2023-00679
- referral: N/A
- date of adoption by section: 27/06/2023
- date of adoption in plenary: 12-13/07/2023

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