The Status of the European Waters in 2015: A Review

Abstract

The paper aims at presenting the recent European developments in water resources management with particular focus on the EU policies related to floods, droughts and ecosystems and their implementation. In this context, the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the Flood Directive and the Communication on Water Scarcity and Droughts are critically presented and analysed. Also, the main methodologies endorsed by the member states for the implementation of EU directives, such as the DPSIR (Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response), the risk assessment and the CEA (Cost-Effectiveness Analysis) are briefly discussed. Further, the first account of the implementation of the EU directives by the member states is presented, together with the statistics that resulted from the first River Basin Management Plans of WFD and the first results from the Flood Directive. It is concluded that despite the significant progress achieved up to now on the fulfilment of the environmental objectives, there is still a long way to go particularly for the new member states of the EU. Enhanced integration of all related policies and better coordination is still required for improving the effectiveness of the Programmes of Measures (PoMs) in the River Basin Districts of the EU territory. Finally, future amendments in European policies on water resources are discussed which will lead to revised environmental objectives for the second and third stage applications of the water directives by the EU member states.