Municipalities´ and local wastewater operators´ efforts should be supported
Following today´s European Parliament vote on a motion for resolution on the implementation of the revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD), CEMR regrets the adoption of amendments calling on the Commission to consider suspending the implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and quaternary treatment obligations. We find the resolution to be contradictory to all the efforts that are currently being undertaken at the local level by the municipalities and wastewater operators.
Andrea Carli, CEMR spokesperson for the environment and Regional Councillor of Friuli Venezia Giulia: “We are deeply concerned with the outcome of today´s plenary vote. We´re standing with Europe’s cities, municipalities, and wastewater operators that have already been preparing the investments needed to implement the revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. What they need now is a clear commitment that the agreed implementation timeline will be respected.”
The polluter pays principle is one of the cornerstones of EU environmental policy. Any suggestion that the implementation of EPR could be suspended risks undermining investor confidence. The revised Directive reached a carefully negotiated balance between protecting public health, safeguarding the environment, and ensuring that those responsible for pollution contribute to the costs of its removal.
We recognise the legitimate need to monitor the impact of the Directive on the availability of critical and generic medicines. However, we strongly believe these concerns should be addressed through the monitoring and flexibility mechanisms already provided for in the legislation.
Therefore, we call on the Commission to maintain the agreed implementation timeline and provide the legal certainty that municipalities and wastewater operators need to invest in quaternary treatment. As Member States will likely start preparing next year their National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs) under the next EU budget, delaying implementation could result in wastewater infrastructure investments being deprioritised or excluded from future funding plans.
In a letter written last year to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, CEMR and 11 other European organisations representing Local and Regional Governments, public utilities, environmental NGOs, trade unions, and water professionals urged the Commission to firmly uphold the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme introduced by the revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD), which entered into force on 1 January 2025.
For more information, contact:
Advisor – Environment and mobility
