Text · Opinion parliamentary committee draft
On the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2000/60/EC establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, Directive 2006/118/EC on the protection of groundwater against pollution and deterioration and Directive 2008/105/EC on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy
Full title
On the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2000/60/EC establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, Directive 2006/118/EC on the protection of groundwater against pollution and deterioration and Directive 2008/105/EC on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy
Document AGRI-PA-745250 · COM(2022)0540 – C90361/2022 – 2022/0344(COD)
- Kind
- Opinion parliamentary committee draft AGRI-PA-745250
- Date
- 7 March 2023
- Committee
- Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
- Rapporteur
- Martin Häusling
- Dossier
- 2022/0344(COD)
More facts (2)
- Formats
- Official page PDF Word
- Reference
- COM(2022)0540 – C90361/2022 – 2022/0344(COD)
In short
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The draft opinion welcomes the proposed revision of EU water legislation and suggests targeted improvements, focusing on agriculture's role in water pollution and abstraction. It calls for better implementation, updated pollutant lists, improved monitoring of chemical mixtures and antimicrobial resistance, and stronger international cooperation on transboundary water issues. Member States must ensure efficient and sustainable water use in agriculture, with no exemption for agricultural abstraction from controls.
Position. The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development calls on the lead committee to take into account its amendments, which aim to strengthen provisions on agricultural water use, monitoring, and cooperation.
Key points
- The opinion supports the revision but proposes limited improvements to address implementation gaps, pollution, and climate impacts.
- Calls for updating pollutant lists and aligning obligations with latest science on contaminants of emerging concern, improving monitoring of chemical mixtures and data transparency.
- Highlights that agriculture is both a victim and contributor to water degradation, with nitrate and pesticide pollution from certain practices.
- Supports including antimicrobial resistance genes in watch lists and notes slaughterhouse water contains such genes.
- In exceptional circumstances affecting downstream Member States, requires immediate information and cooperation to investigate causes and address consequences.
- Monitoring programmes for groundwater must include the impact of agricultural abstraction practices.
- Requires measures to ensure efficient and sustainable water use in agriculture to avoid compromising water objectives.
- Controls on water abstraction must not exempt agricultural use.
- Member States must notify issues affecting water management that cannot be resolved alone or risk impacting another Member State.
- Member States must fully cooperate without delay to identify sources and measures, responding within two months.
- The Commission must be fully and timely informed and consider further Union action to reduce transboundary impacts.
- Residents of affected river basin districts must be adequately and timely informed.
Who is affected
- Farmers and agricultural producers: face stricter controls on water abstraction and requirements for sustainable water use.
- Member States: must implement monitoring, notification, and cooperation obligations, and inform residents.
- Slaughterhouses: their water discharges are noted as containing antimicrobial resistance genes.
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Short justification
The rapporteur welcomes the proposed revision of the three water related pieces of legislation and suggests some targeted and limited improvements.
The overall slow progress in achieving the objectives of the Water Framework Directive can be attributed to a lack of implementation, an insuffient scope, and insuffiscient or inadequate restoration measures ensuring hydrological and ecological connectivity.
In line with the 2019 fitness check, lists of pollutants affecting surface and groundwater have to be updated, and the way of tackling them harmonised. Obligations for Member States should be swiftly aligned with latest science concerning contaminants of emerging concern. The monitoring of chemical mixtures should be improved. More generally, access to and transparency of data need to be ensured.
In the summer of 2022, the extreme impact of climate change on the availability of water became very apparent, and the scientific consensus tells us that this is just the beginning. Farmers and food production are amongst the first victims of climate change.
The environmental disaster unfolding, also in summer 2022, in the Oder river basin has shown the need to strengthen international cooperation and ensure the full and speedy cooperation of all Member States concerned.
Antimicrobial resistance has become a major threat to public health, and the rapporteur therefore very much agrees with the proposal to include antimicrobial resistance genes in the surface and groundwater watch lists, and draws the attention to water discharged by slaughter houses, which has shown to contain antimicrobial resistance genes.
Certain agricultural practices have been identified as an obstacle to achieving good status in EU water bodies, leading to nitrate and pesticide pollution in groundwater. Member States should therefore ensure that the relevant Ground Water Quality Standards are fully respected.
Dealing with drought and therefore ensuring good quantitative groundwater status is ever more important. Heightened attention to abstraction practices is warranted. as water abstraction for agriculture has become a major pressure causing failure of good quantitative status of groundwater bodies. Member States have to ensure an efficient and sustainable water use, including in agriculture, and controls over the abstraction of fresh surface water and groundwater may not exclude agricultural use.
Agriculture is both contributing to and victim of degrading qualitative and quantitative status of surface and groundwater. It is high time to reverse the trend.
The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development calls on the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, as the committee responsible, to take into account the following amendments:
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (1a) Climate change and the degradation of biodiversity negatively affect water quality and availability. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (1b) Certain agricultural practices have been identified as an obstacle to achieving good status of water bodies in the Union, leading to nitrate and pesticide pollution in groundwater.1a | |
| 1a https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/water/european-waters/water-quality-and-water-assessment/water-assessments |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (1c) Agricultural production is a major source of diffuse pollution, mostly as a result of excessive emissions of nutrients and chemicals such as pesticides.1a | |
| 1a https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/water/european-waters/water-quality-and-water-assessment/water-assessments |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (1d) Aside from diffuse pollution, water abstraction for agriculture is also a major pressure causing failure of good quantitative status of groundwater bodies. 1a | |
| 1a https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT /PDF/?uri=CELEX:52021DC0970 |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (1e) Excessive pesticide use affects water quality severely, leading to reduced aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity.1a | |
| 1a https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901121003397 |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (1f) Chemical pollution of surface and groundwater poses a threat to agriculture. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (10) Concern has been expressed about the risk of antimicrobial resistance developing from the presence of antimicrobial resistant microorganisms and antimicrobial resistance genes in the aquatic environment, but little monitoring has taken place. Relevant antimicrobial resistance genes should also be included in the surface and ground water watch lists and monitored as soon as suitable monitoring methods have been developed. This is in line with the 'European One Health Action Plan against Antimicrobial Resistance’, adopted by the Commission in June 2017, and with the Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe, which also addresses this concern. | (10) Concern has been expressed about the risk of antimicrobial resistance developing from the presence of antimicrobial resistant microorganisms and antimicrobial resistance genes in the aquatic environment, including due to the excessive use of reserve antibiotics in agriculture, but little monitoring has taken place. Relevant antimicrobial resistance genes should also be included in the surface and ground water watch lists and monitored as soon as suitable monitoring methods have been developed. This is in line with the 'European One Health Action Plan against Antimicrobial Resistance’, adopted by the Commission in June 2017, and with the Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe, which also addresses this concern. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (10a) Water discharged by slaughter houses has shown to contain antimicrobial resistance genes.1a | |
| 1a https://www.greenpeace.de/publikationen/Antibiotikarestistente%20Keime%20in%20Schlachthof-Abw%C3%A4ssern.pdf |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (13a) The overall slow progress in achieving the objectives of Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council1a can be attributed to a lack of implementation, an insufficient scope, and insufficient or inadequate restoration measures ensuring hydrological and ecological connectivity. 1b | |
| 1a Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1). | |
| 1b https://www.igb-berlin.de/sites/default/files/media-files/download-files/IGB_Policy_Brief_WFD_2019.pdf |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| 4a. In the case of exceptional circumstances of natural origin or force majeure, in particular extreme floods and prolonged droughts, or significant pollution incidents, which could affect downstream water bodies situated in other Member States, Member States shall ensure that the competent authorities for downstream water bodies in such Member States, as well as the Commission, are immediately informed and that the necessary cooperation is set up to investigate the causes and address the consequences of the exceptional circumstances or incidents. | 4a. In the case of exceptional circumstances, in particular floods and droughts, or pollution incidents, which could affect downstream water bodies situated in other Member States, Member States shall ensure that the competent authorities for downstream water bodies in such Member States, as well as the Commission, are immediately informed and that the necessary cooperation is set up to investigate the causes and address the consequences of the exceptional circumstances or incidents. |
| Present text | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (-a) in paragraph 1, point (ii) is replaced by the following: | |
| (ii) the ecological and chemical status and ecological potential; | "(ii) the ecological and chemical status and ecological potential; |
| — for groundwaters such programmes shall cover monitoring of the chemical and quantitative status, | — for groundwaters such programmes shall cover monitoring of the chemical and quantitative status, including the impact of agricultural abstraction practices, |
| — for protected areas the above programmes shall be supplemented by those specifications contained in Community legislation under which the individual protected areas have been established. | — for protected areas the above programmes shall be supplemented by those specifications contained in Union legislation under which the individual protected areas have been established." |
| Present text | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (7a) in Article 11(3), point (c) is replaced by the following: | |
| (c) measures to promote an efficient and sustainable water use in order to avoid compromising the achievement of the objectives specified in Article 4; | "(c) measures to ensure an efficient and sustainable water use, including in agriculture, in order to avoid compromising the achievement of the objectives specified in Article 4;" |
| Present text | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (7b) in Article 11(3), point (e) is replaced by the following: | |
| (e) controls over the abstraction of fresh surface water and groundwater, and impoundment of fresh surface water, including a register or registers of water abstractions and a requirement of prior authorisation for abstraction and impoundment. These controls shall be periodically reviewed and, where necessary, updated. Member States can exempt from these controls, abstractions or impoundments which have no significant impact on water status; | "(e) controls over the abstraction of fresh surface water and groundwater, and impoundment of fresh surface water, including a register or registers of water abstractions and a requirement of prior authorisation for abstraction and impoundment. These controls shall be periodically reviewed and, where necessary, updated. Member States can exempt from these controls, abstractions or impoundments which have no significant impact on water status. Agricultural use may not be exempted from those controls;" |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| 1. Where a Member State identifies an issue which has an impact on the management of its water but cannot be resolved by that Member State, it shall notify the issue to the Commission and any other Member State concerned and make recommendations for the resolution of it. | 1. Where a Member State identifies an issue which has an impact on the management of its water but cannot be resolved by that Member State or risks having an impact on another Member State, it shall notify the issue to the Commission and any other Member State concerned and make recommendations for the resolution of it. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| The Member States concerned shall cooperate to identify the sources of the issues referred to in paragraph 1 and the measures required for addressing those issues. | The Member States concerned shall fully cooperate to identify without delay the sources of the issues referred to in paragraph 1 and the measures required for addressing those issues. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| Member States shall respond to each other in a timely manner, and no later than 3 months after notification by another Member State in accordance with paragraph 1. | Member States shall respond to each other in a timely manner, and no later than two months after notification by another Member State in accordance with paragraph 1. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| 3. The Commission shall be informed of, and invited to assist in, any cooperation referred to in paragraph 2. Where appropriate, the Commission shall, taking into account the reports established pursuant to Article 13, consider whether further action needs to be taken at Union level in order to reduce the transboundary impacts on water bodies. | 3. The Commission shall be fully and timely informed of, and invited to assist in, any cooperation referred to in paragraph 2. The Commission shall, taking into account the reports established pursuant to Article 13, consider whether further action needs to be taken at Union level in order to reduce the transboundary impacts on water bodies. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| Member States shall ensure that the residents of the concerned river basin district or of the part of the international river basin district falling within the territory of a Member State are adequately and timely informed. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| In selecting the representative monitoring stations, the monitoring frequency and the seasonal timing for each substance or group of substances, Member States shall take into account the use patterns and possible occurrence of the substance or group of substances. The frequency of monitoring shall be no less than once per year. | In selecting the representative monitoring stations, the monitoring frequency and the seasonal timing for each substance or group of substances, Member States shall take into account the use patterns and possible occurrence of the substance or group of substances. The frequency of monitoring shall be no less than once per year, except for substances that are sensitive to climatic or seasonal variabilities, for which the monitoring shall be carried out more frequently, as set out in the implementing act establishing the watch list pursuant to paragraph 1. |
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Sources & citation
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- Data source
- Licensed CC BY 4.0.
- Retrieved
- 25 September 2026
Cite as
European Parliament (2023). “DRAFT OPINION on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2000/60/EC establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, Directive 2006/118/EC on the protection of groundwater against pollution and deterioration and Directive 2008/105/EC on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy”. Text, 7 March 2023. docId AGRI-PA-745250. EU Parl Watch Research. https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/AGRI-PA-745250 (retrieved 25 September 2026). Data: EP Open Data API: document record, https://data.europarl.europa.eu/api/v2/documents/AGRI-PA-745250 (CC BY 4.0).
BibTeX
@misc{epw-text-agri-pa-745250,
author = {{European Parliament}},
title = {{DRAFT OPINION on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2000/60/EC establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, Directive 2006/118/EC on the protection of groundwater against pollution and deterioration and Directive 2008/105/EC on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy}},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-03-07},
howpublished = {\url{https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/AGRI-PA-745250}},
url = {https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/AGRI-PA-745250},
urldate = {2026-09-25},
publisher = {EU Parl Watch Research},
note = {Text. docId AGRI-PA-745250. Data: EP Open Data API: document record (CC BY 4.0)}
}