The European Commission launched a four-week call for evidence on 17 March to inform a targeted revision of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the EU's primary legislation for protecting and managing water quality across Member States. The online consultation is open until 14 April 2026.
The initiative is part of the Commission's RESourceEU Action Plan, presented in December 2025, which seeks to accelerate the EU's access to critical raw materials (CRMs), including those used in electric vehicles, defence, aerospace and AI infrastructure, by streamlining permitting and reducing supply chain vulnerabilities.
The call for evidence, led by DG Environment's Unit for Sustainable Freshwater Management, is the first step toward a proposal for a revised Directive, currently scheduled for the second quarter of 2026. The document notes that the initiative does not prejudge the Commission's final decision on whether to proceed or on its ultimate content.
At the heart of the review is a tension between the WFD's non-deterioration principle, which restricts the discharge of pollutants into water bodies, and the permitting needs of mining and metal processing companies. Those sectors have repeatedly raised concerns, in response to earlier simplification consultations, that the principle creates barriers to obtaining approvals for strategic CRM extraction, processing and recycling projects.
In place since 2000, the WFD requires Member States to achieve good quality status for all surface and groundwater. A 2019 fitness check confirmed the directive's added value and its respect for the subsidiarity principle, noting that its transboundary scope justifies EU-level coordination. A further round of revisions covering the Groundwater Directive and the Environmental Quality Standards Directive reached political agreement in September 2025, introducing added flexibility on compliance deadlines and two new exemptions from the non-deterioration principle.
The Commission has indicated the revision should maintain the WFD's contribution to water resilience, as outlined in the Water Resilience Strategy adopted in June 2025, while supporting the EU's strategic autonomy on CRMs. An impact assessment will be prepared as part of the process, examining the economic, social, environmental and territorial consequences, including potential effects on drinking water affordability for communities near CRM project sites.
The Commission is inviting a broad range of stakeholders to participate, including businesses in the CRM value chain, civil society organisations, water management companies, and national and regional authorities involved in permitting and WFD compliance. Businesses are specifically asked to submit concrete evidence of WFD provisions that create obstacles to CRM projects, as well as information on the environmental impacts of such projects and possible mitigation measures. Input gathered through the Environmental Omnibus simplification process and the Implementation Dialogue on related directives will also be taken into account.
The call for evidence is accessible through the Commission's Have Your Say portal.
