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Commissioner Jessika Roswall outlines vision for EU Water Resilience Strategy

  • Commissioner Jessika Roswall outlines vision for EU Water Resilience Strategy
    Jessika Roswall. Official portrait, 2024.
    © European Union, 2024, CC BY 4.0

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Yesterday, Jessika Roswall, European Commissioner for Environment, Water, and a Competitive Circular Economy, delivered a keynote speech on water resilience at the Representation of the State of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In her address, Commissioner Roswall highlighted the urgent need for a comprehensive approach to water security in the European Union and provided a preview of the forthcoming European Water Resilience Strategy.

Last September, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen entrusted Commissioner Roswall with leading work on the European Water resilience Strategy to address water efficiency, scarcity, pollution and water related risk, according to President von der Leyen’s Mission letter to Roswall. More specifically, the strategy “will aim to enhance the competitive innovative edge of our water industry, develop clean tech, take a circular economy approach and include proposals to digitalise water management, cycles and utilities.”

In her speech, the Commissioner emphasized that water quality challenges are now compounded by significant threats to water quantity. “Parts of the Mediterranean region have experienced a prolonged drought since 2021. And several EU Member States were affected by heavy rain and flash floods throughout much of 2024”, Roswall noted, highlighting the critical need for action as the cost of managing water-related disasters amounts to billions every year.

Roswall stressed the importance of elevating water issues in the political realm. “I think the time has come to firmly put water on the political agenda,” she stated. She also highlighted the vital connection between water and Europe’s economic strategies. “The success of Europe's industrial and digital strategies depends on access to clean freshwater as much as it depends on access to affordable energy.”

Furthermore, the Commissioner highlighted the vast potential of Europe’s water sector to become a global leader in cutting-edge technologies. “We should be proud over the fact that 40 per cent of the patents for water management are made in the EU,” she said. Europe's water sector “has the potential to become a global leader in new technologies like sustainable desalination, more advanced water treatment processes, or AI-guided detection of leaks in public infrastructure. And I want our strategy to enable that,” Roswall stressed.

Roswall advanced the multifaceted objectives of the strategy, which she plans to present later this year. These include preserving water quality and quantity, repairing the broken water cycle with a source-to-sea approach, enhancing the competitive edge of the water industry, and proposing actionable solutions to build a resilient water society. The strategy will also encourage innovative financing, including the mobilisation of private capital, to drive forward new technologies and solutions. It will feature recommendations for improving water efficiency and measures to strengthen water governance.

Concluding her speech, Commissioner Roswall expressed optimism for the future of Europe’s water security. “Together, we can ensure a more sustainable and resilient water future for Europe and beyond.”

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