How industry actors are attempting to remove EU water protections - new report

The findings reveal attempts by parts of the agriculture, energy, mining, and chemical sectors to weaken the EU’s cornerstone water protection law, the Water Framework Directive (WFD), under the guise of “simplification” and “competitiveness.”

Despite depending on clean and abundant water for their own operations, these lobbies are pressuring the European Commission (EC) to use the upcoming Environmental “Omnibus” Package - the EC's proposal to deregulate (rip up) environmental laws - to roll back fundamental WFD safeguards. Their demands include scrapping the “one-out, all-out” principle, watering down the ban on destroying nature, and postponing the 2027 deadline to restore Europe’s rivers, lakes, and aquifers to good health. All despite the fact that the WFD was given a clean bill of health, declared as “fit for purpose” by the Commission’s own fitness check, only in 2019.

If granted, these changes would open the floodgates to further pollution and nature destruction, threatening not only ecosystems and wildlife, but also vital sources of drinking water - endangering the health of millions of people across Europe, while at the same time undermining the EU’s new Water Resilience Strategy and Europe’s climate goals.

The report shows how industrial agriculture seeks to dodge vitally needed pollution controls, extractive industries want freer permits for new mines, and energy giants are pushing to redefine pollution standards, all while claiming to act in the name of green growth. All in the name of short-term profits.

By contrast, many forward-looking businesses are calling for stronger enforcement of the WFD, recognising that healthy freshwater ecosystems are essential for stability, productivity, and resilience across Europe.

Commenting on recent industry attempts to weaken the WFD, the Living Rivers Europe coalition, said: "Industry lobbyists are encircling the Commission, pushing to rip up the whole rule book. They show no concern that their demands could leave us with chemicals in our blood and toxic contamination in the water we swim in - so long as the profits keep on flowing. But caving to them would be a serious mistake. Citizens will pay, progressive companies will pay, and in the end even these industries will pay when short-term deregulation fuels long-term instability, public backlash, and deeper environmental crises of their own making."

The European Commission now faces a critical choice: stand by citizens and science, or side with short-term polluters.

Key insights

·      Industry groups across sectors call for core WFDprinciples to be scrapped or weakened.

·      Proposals would make it easier for pollutingprojects to be approved, even if they harm rivers, lakes, and groundwater.

·      These rollbacks would directly endanger drinkingwater quality, biodiversity, and public health.

·      Only a small group of lobby actors supportweakening the WFD, not the majority of businesses.

·      This is based on publicly available answersprovided by industry associations or individual companies to the call forevidence on Simplification of administrative burdens in environmentallegislation, which ran from 22 July to 10 September 2025.

The report urges the European Commission to:

·      Keep the Water Framework Directive out of theEnvironmental Omnibus Package

·      Enforce existing rules, do not review or stripthem of meaning

·      Fund and strengthen implementation through theWater Resilience Strategy

·      Protect citizens’ right to clean, safe, andaffordable water

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