In the European Union, one in eight deaths is linked to environmental pollution: air pollution alone means more than 300,000 Europeans die prematurely each year. In a debate with Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius, EU regions and cities underlined their crucial role in implementing pollution-relevant laws, policies and programmes, and pointed out that the costs of an ambitious policy are far outweighed by the benefits for the economy, nature, climate and particularly health.
Revising the EU legislation on urban wastewater treatment is a key step on the European Commission's zero-pollution agenda, which aims at reducing air, water and soil pollution to levels no longer considered harmful to health and natural ecosystems by 2050.
Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Commissioner Sinkevicius pointed out in his intervention that the European Commission's Zero Pollution Action Plan recognises the crucial role of local and regional authorities in the battle for clear air, soil and water. He underlined that the revision of the urban wastewater treatment directive comes at a crucial moment when Europe is facing a water crisis with draughts, floods and water pollution.
Rafał Trzaskowski (PL/EPP), Chair of the CoR's Commission for Environment, Climate Change and Energy (ENVE) and Mayor of Warsaw, said: "The Zero Pollution Action Plan aims to tackle pollution comprehensively across different sectors. Cities and regions are at the forefront of addressing pollution and environmental challenges, as they have direct responsibility for managing water resources and wastewater treatment facilities, as well as the possibility to implement strategies to improve air quality. An effective implementation of the Zero Pollution ambition needs adequate resources, technical support and funding. I make an appeal, once again, to grant direct funds to local and regional authorities. This is relevant especially for the revision of the Urban Wastewater and the Ambient Air Quality Directives, since local and regional authorities are required to put measures in place to reduce water and air pollution. "
Regarding the revision of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, regions and cities underline that the revised framework must be risk-based, goal-oriented and flexible enough to account for local and regional differences within and among Member States.
Rapporteur Åsa Ågren Wikström (SE/EPP), Member of Västerbotten Regional Council, said: "We welcome a revised directive that will lead to cleaner and healthier waters. However, the legislation must be flexible enough, and able to adjust to different local and regional conditions. There is simply no 'one size fits all' solution. The main goal should be to have a high standard in water quality everywhere – not to have the same technology and treatment processes. The cost for treatments and energy schemes must be in line with achieved environmental benefits."
Markku Markkula, President of the Helsinki-Uusimaa Region said that "We need more innovation and more research, as well as private investment in order to find new solutions to the problems of wastewater management and air quality. All regions should tackle such issues by taking into account their own specific situations."
Tjisse Stelpstra, Member of the Council of the Province of Drenthe highlighted that “Clean air can only be created through measures. Source measures - and European source measures in particular - are essential to combat air pollution. The current European source measures are not ambitious enough and are also being taken too late. This is an important reason why cities and regions need more time to meet the limit values.”
"We strongly support the EU commitment to a permanent demand for the quality of the treated waters in our wastewater treatment plants. Let’s listen to the experts on the ground and determine a realistic approach, taking into account the different scenarios among EU countries." said Adrián Ariel Zittelli Ferrari, Director-General for European Union Affairs for the Region of Murcia
Uwe Conradt, Mayor of Saarbrücke said that „Cities are making great efforts to improve air quality. But cities must not be overburdened and certainly not held responsible for pollution outside their jurisdiction. Class action lawsuits for missed targets under the AAQD directive are therefore the wrong way to go."
