Water Framework Directive
Since 2000, the Water Framework Directive (WFD) has aimed to ensure the good chemical and ecological status of EU water bodies. The WFD is complemented by two ‘daughter directives’, which set pollutant standards necessary to achieve good water status: the Groundwater Directive and the Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) Directive.
Following the 2019 Fitness Check, the European Commission adopted a proposal to revise the three directives, updating the list of pollutants in surface and groundwater and their quality standards. The Trilogue agreement reached in September 2025 introduces new substances into the list of priority pollutants (including PFAS) and establishes a revised governance structure that assigns a central role to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).
FuelsEurope has outlined key principles for the revision of the water directives:
- The revision of the WFD should maintain a risk-based approach to identify appropriate, cost-effective, and proportionate level of control of priority substances.
- The regulatory framework for surface and groundwater quality standards should be grounded in robust scientific evidence and complemented by economically viable solutions to address new substances.
- The implementation timelines for EQS and GWQS standards for new substances should be proportionate and economically feasible, supported by a comprehensive impact assessment that carefully evaluates cost implications.
- The WFD should adopt a more proportionate approach for implementing the non-deterioration principle.
FuelsEurope will continue to engage actively in the development of secondary legislation following the adoption of the revised directives. It is essential that the implementation of the revised WFD and its daughter directives remains science-based and risk-based, ensuring the meaningful involvement of all affected sectors and safeguarding their competitiveness.
Water Resilience Strategy
The European Water Resilience Strategy, published on 4 June 2025, sets out the EU’s ambition to achieve a water-resilient Europe, built around three main objectives:
- Restoring and protecting the water cycle as the basis for water supply.
- Building a water-smart economy to boost competitiveness, and attract investments.
- Securing clean and affordable water and sanitation for all and empowering consumers for water resilience.
While the EU’s existing water-related legislative frameworks provide a strong foundation for achieving water resilience, the European Commission identifies key areas for enhanced EU action to improve implementation. These include:
- governance and implementation;
- finance, investment and infrastructure;
- digitalisation;
- research, innovation, industry and skills; and
- security and preparedness.
Accompanying the Strategy, the Commission also published Recommendations on the Water Efficiency First Principle, setting an aspirational target to improve water efficiency by at least 10% by 2030.
FuelsEurope appreciates the Strategy’s vision for a water-wise, circular economy that integrates water considerations across EU funding mechanisms. This ambition is not only essential for environmental protection and public health but also presents significant opportunities for innovation and sustainable growth, including within the refining sector.
Recognising the vital role of water in refining operations and the energy transition, FuelsEurope supports initiatives that promote sustainable water management, innovative technologies to reduce water stress, and enhanced water circularity.
In line with the EU’s simplification agenda, FuelsEurope emphasises that the European Water Resilience Strategy should avoid introducing new requirements that overlap with existing EU legislation or interfere with ongoing legislative processes, the development of secondary legislation, or the implementation of recently adopted measures.