The speakers of the event with three of the Chairs.
From left to right: Roberto Epple – ERN, Cy Griffin - Wetlands International, Valentin Opfermann- Copa Cogeca, Mark Owen – EAA,
MEP Linnea Engström, MEP Ulrike Rodust, Pieter de Pous – EEB, François Wakenhut – European Commission,
Geneviève Pons – WWF EPO, Peter Matt - Vorarlberger Illwerke AG, MEP Franc Bogovic.
On the 22nd March 2017 - the day celebrated at the global level as “World Water Day” - an event took place at the European Parliament entitled “The Water Framework Directive – Lifeline for European Waters” organised by the Forum on Recreational Fisheries and Aquatic Environment.
The event was chaired by four Members of the European Parliament, from four different political groups, with a strong interest in this topic: MEP Ulrike Rodust (S&D), MEP Franc Bogovic (EPP), MEP Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy (ALDE) and MEP Linnea Engström (Greens).
The European Commission, represented by François Wakenhut, Director of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment, and stakeholders from both NGOs and the industries concerned (Copa Cogeca, Vorarlberger Illwerke AG – an Austrian Hydropower Company) were invited as speakers.
The NGO alliance “Living Rivers Europe” was then officially launched to achieve and secure healthy freshwater ecosystems, with a strong emphasis on the Water Framework Directive review process. “Living Rivers Europe” will campaign for a better implementation, a stricter enforcement and the upkeep of today’s Water Framework Directive’s standards. You can read more about its objectives here.
“Living Rivers Europe” is made up of five international environmental NGOs: the European Anglers Alliance (EAA), the European Environment Bureau (EEB), the European Rivers Network (ERN), the Wetlands International European Association (WI-EA) and the WWF, European Policy Office (WWF EPO).
For the new platform “Living Rivers Europe” this day marked the beginning of a working process that will stretch into the year 2019.
Conference
The Water Framework Directive – Lifeline for European Waters
22 March 2017
13:30-15:00
European Parliament, Brussels
MEP Ulrike Rodust, MEP Frank Bogovic, MEP Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy and MEP Linnéa Engström, will be chairing a conference on “The Water Framework Directive – Lifeline for European Waters" organised by the European Parliament Forum on Recreational Fisheries and Aquatic Environment, with the support of the European Anglers Alliance (EAA), the European Fishing Tackle Trade Association (EFTTA) and the WWF.
The event will take place on the 22nd of March in the European Parliament (room ASP3H1) from 13:30 to 15:00.
German interpretation will be provided.
The agenda of the event can be downloaded
here.
The European Anglers Alliance (EAA) and the European Fishing Tackle Trade Association (EFTTA) are joining forces with several NGOs to raise awareness about the importance of the Water Framework Directive in view of its upcoming review. An event that will take place on the 22nd of March in Brussels will be the occasion to discuss the current state of the implementation of the Directive and the importance to preserve its ambitious objectives and deadlines.
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) was adopted 17 years ago with the aim of protecting European waters and ensuring that they achieve “good status” by a set deadline. However, in 2012 the European Commission acknowledged that Member States were far from reaching these objectives as 47% of EU waters did not achieve good ecological status . Nevertheless, the WFD represents a crucial piece of EU environmental legislation and it has greatly contributed to the improvement of water protection in the EU . The review process will start in 2019.
In view of this process, the European Anglers Alliance and the European Fishing Tackle Trade Association have decided to enhance cooperation with several NGOs such as the WWF, to raise awareness about how the Directive works and its correct implementation.