The European Commission has initiated infringement procedures against Czechia and Portugal for failing to comply with obligations under the EU’s Water Framework Directive, aimed at safeguarding water quality across the Union.
In its latest package of infringement decisions, the Commission sent letters of formal notice to both countries — case numbers INFR(2025)2027 for Czechia and INFR(2025)2042 for Portugal — citing their failure to properly transpose key provisions of Directive 2000/60/EC. The main issue lies in the insufficient frequency of periodic reviews of water permits, which undermines efforts to achieve and maintain good water status in rivers, lakes, and other water bodies.
According to the Directive, EU Member States must implement and periodically update programmes of measures in each river basin district. These programmes are essential for controlling water abstraction, damming, discharges from point sources, and pollution from diffuse sources. A crucial part of these programmes is the regular reassessment of water permits to ensure they remain aligned with environmental objectives.
However, the Commission found that Czechia and Portugal fall significantly short of this requirement. In Czechia, some permit reviews occur only once every 30 years. In Portugal, the situation is even more extreme, with reviews tied to permit expiration dates that can stretch up to 75 years. The Commission emphasized that such long intervals are incompatible with the principle of "periodic review" as required by EU law.
Full implementation of EU water quality standards is vital to protect both human health and ecosystems, the Commission stressed. Czechia and Portugal now have two months to respond to the Commission's concerns and outline corrective actions. If the responses are deemed unsatisfactory, the Commission may escalate the cases by issuing reasoned opinions, the next formal step in infringement proceedings.
