European community water policy

Abstract

This chapter traces the development of the European Community water policy. Against a background of a sense that action was urgent, a formal environmental protection policy was 'constitutionalized' for the first time by the Single European Act (1986). Community water policy entered a new stage with the adoption of the Water Framework Directive (2000) and the subsequent establishment of the Common Implementation Strategy. These changes amount to a true paradigm-shift whereby Community water policy became functionally oriented towards sustainable development and meeting the expectations of European citizens. © 2009 Springer Netherlands.