Fostering Innovation in the Desalination Industry - Related links

Related Links on EU Water Policy

• Water resilience strategy – European Commission (2025)
  • Communication (4 June 2025)
  • Action Tracker  (21 November 2025)
• Water Framework Directive - Environment - European Commission 
  • Call for feedback for review as part of the ResourceEU Action Plan – until 14 April (17 March 2026) 
  • Establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy - Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000
• Knowledge Hub for Water – Water Reuse – European Commission (30 May 2025)
• Water Sector Commitments 2025–2027 - European Investment Bank (2025)
• EIT Water Launched: New Innovation Community to Tackle Europe’s Water Challenges – European Institute of Innovation and Technology (November 2025)

Other publications

• Council pushes for a holistic water strategy to safeguard water resources and boost resilience – Council of the EU (21 October 2025)
• Commissioner Roswall's speech at the High-Level Stakeholder Consultation on the Water Resilience Strategy – European Commission press release (March 2025)
• The EU blue economy 2024 – JRC and European Commission (2024)

Environment & Competitiveness (Strategies and Legislation)

European Commission & Joint Research Centre

Communication

• Industrial Accelerator Act – European Commission (2026) 
• Clean Industrial Deal – European Commission Webpage and Communication (26 February 2025)
• The European Green Deal – European Commission Communication (2019)
• Zero Pollution Action Plan – European Commission Overview 
• Political guidelines for the next Commission | Ursula von der Leyen – European Commission (2024) – p. 21-22

Circular Economy Act

• Circular Economy Act (Webpage) Timeline, Overview, Implementation, Tools, Timeline – European Commission
• Circular Economy Act - European Parliament Research Service (January 2026)
• Call for Evidence  – European Commission (1 August 2025 to 6 November 2025)

Other Publications:

• Position on the Circular Economy Act – Eurochambres (14 November 2025)
• Circular Economy Act must balance circularity with competitiveness – CEFIC (12 November 2025)
• Delivering an EU Circular Economy Act that works – ECOS (5 November 2025)

Technology

European Commission & Joint Research Centre

Communication

• Mission letter to Commissioner-designate for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy – President of the European Commission (17 September 2024)
• A hydrogen strategy for a climate-neutral Europe – European Commission Communication (8 June 2020) [key actions here]

European Commission report and study 

• Implementation of water balance in the EU – European Commission final report (2024)
• Implementation of water allocation in the EU – European Commission final report (2024)
• Water, stress, resilience – European Commission publication (2024)
• Water Management Digitalisation – European Commission's Rolling Plan for ICT Standardisation (2024)
• Digitalisation in the water sector: recommendations for policy developments at EU level – European Commission report (2022)
• Business models for digital water solutions – European Commission (2021)

JRC

• Case 19: Water reuse and sustainable seawater desalination – JRC Publications (2026)
• EU energy atlas - water needs of the energy system 2022 – JRC Publications (2026)
• Hydrogen Production via Direct Seawater Electrolysis – JRC Technical Report (2025)
• Energy efficiency of water electrolysers for hydrogen production – JRC policy brief (2024)
• Digitalising the European water and hydropower sectors – JRC Publications (2023)
• Smart Specialisation in the Context of Blue Economy – Analysis of Desalination Sector – JRC Science for Policy Report (2021)

Other Publications

• Advancing water resilience through digital innovation and responsible stewardship CISPE policy recommendations for the European Water Resilience Strategy  - Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (1 June 2025)
• Emerging technologies in integrated water management Exposure to new tools and opportunities – Global Water Partnership (2025)
• How Can a Company Use Satellite Data to Assess Its Water Risk? – ESG Sustainability Directory (23 October 2025)
• Smart Water Technologies for Sustainable Water Management and Climate Resilience: IoT, AI, Real-Time Monitoring, Leak Detection, and Digital Solutions – Our Future Water (August 7, 2025)
• Towards Clean and Competitive Water Desalination Technologies – Florika Fink-Hooijer Opinion (Director-General of the Environment Department of the European Commission) (27 November 2024)
• Innovation in water-related technologies – European Patent Office (July 2024)
• Leading Innovators Call on EU Policymakers to Foster Uptake of Digitalisation for a Water Resilient Europe – Joint Statement of AutoDesk, Bentley, Cisco, Danfoss, Ecolab, Grundfos, Olympios, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Suez, Veolia, Wipro and Xylem (2024)
• Smart technologies for the management of water resources and water services | Managing and Financing Water for Growth in Thailand: Highlights of a National Dialogue on Water – OECD Study (2022)
• Paving the way for permitting of hydrogen projects in the EU: Barriers and recommendations - European Clean Hydrogen Alliance (June 2022)
• Can seawater desalination be a win-win fix to our water cycle? – EU Blue Economy Observatory (1 September 2020)
• Europe's state of water 2024: the need for improved water resilience – European Environment Agency (October 2024)

Skills

• European Water Academy: A flagship initiative to strengthen water resilience in Europe – European Commission (2025) 
• European Water Academy: A Catalyst for Skills, Innovation, and Purpose to Empower Europe’s Water Workforce – Water Europe (October 2025)
• Skills4Water (webpage)

Finance

• Horizon Europe – European Commission
• Recovery and Resilience Facility – European Commission
• The 2028-2034 EU budget for a stronger Europe (Multi-Annual Financial Framework) – European Commission
• Water and wastewater: Securing safe, clean water for all  – European Investment Bank
• LIFE Programme: EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action - European Commission

Additional Publications:

• Financing Water Projects: Building a Sustainable Future – World Water Council, Task Force on Financing Water (September 2025)
• The economics of water scarcity – OECD Working Paper (24 May 2024)
• The Economics of Water: Valuing the Hydrological Cycle as a Global Common Good - Global Commission on the economics of water (2024)
• Scaling up finance to ensure a water-secure future for all – World Bank blogs (March 19, 2024)
• Socio-Economic Study on the Value of the EU investing Water – Water Europe Report (October 2024)

Additional Articles, Studies and Reports

• Opportunities in European water policy: Making the most of the EU Water Resilience Strategy – German Advisory Council on Global Change (15 June 2025)
• Water4All Position Paper on European Water Resilience Strategy – Water4All (11 March 2025)
• Call to Action: Make Hydrogen a Priority in the Next EU Budget – Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking Press release (6 March 2025)
• European Citizens' Initiative for a Water-Smart and Resilient Europe – Website (2025)
• Making Europe water and climate resilient – Position paper of the European Environmental Bureau (27 January 2025)
• Five things to know about desalination – UN Environment Program (11 January 2021)
• Water Resilience Strategy: a Step towards a Water-Smart Society – Water Europe Position Paper (January 2025)
• Water Statistics – Eurostat (July 2024)
• Towards healthier and resilient water in Europe – European Environment Agency Web report (2024)
• The United Nations World Water Development Report 2024: water for prosperity and peace - Chapter 4 : Industry – UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme (2024)
• Water for hydrogen production – International Renewable Energy Agency (December 2023)
• How to protect our water—now, and for generations – McKinsey (2022) 
• Water Resilience Coalition Impact Report (2022) – CEO led water resilience coalition of water intensive industry leaders (2022)
• Water in Circular Economy and Resilience (WICER) – World Bank Water Resilience Initiative Report (2022) 
• Water resources across Europe — confronting water stress: an updated assessment – European Environment Agency Report (2021)
• Drivers of and pressures arising from selected key water management challenges – European Environment Agency (2021)
• The future of water: How innovations will advance water sustainability and resilience worldwide – World Bank Blog (2020)

European Economic and Social Committee

• Declaration for an EU Blue Deal – European Economic and Social Committee (2023)
• Call to adopt an Ambitious EU Blue Deal! – Joint letter of the European Parliament and the EESC (October 2023)
• CCMI Guidelines and Work Programme for 2024 – Consultative Commission on Industrial Change (2024)
• Europe’s Circular Economy and its Pact for Skills: working together for an inclusive and job-rich transition? – Single Market, Production and Consumption Section  (2023)

European Committee of the Regions

Previous CoR opinions

• CDR-2276-2025: Turning the tide – A local and regional roadmap for water resilience | European Committee of the Regions; (2026)
• CDR-5587-2023 - Towards a resilient water management to fight climate crisis within an EU Blue Deal; (2024)
• CDR-5513-2023 - Creating an EU Blue deal from an agriculture and rural development perspective across EU Regions; (2024)