European Water Governance and the EU Water Framework Directive I

Abstract

The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) was adopted almost 20 years ago and represents the cornerstone of the European water governance regime. It includes strong procedural provisions, e.g. for ecosystem-based management and public participation for all EU member states. Despite its ambitious ecological targets and institutional provisions, improvements of the status of European waters are mixed. Hence, the directive highlights the tension between integration and convergence on the one hand, and flexibility and local differentiation on the other. The Panel focuses on how different institutional arrangements handle tensions between harmonization and local differentiation and between integration and flexibility, as well as their impact on environmental performance. At the heart of these questions is the transfer or allocation of power in decision-making about a crucial natural resource, within and between member states of the EU.

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