Water: Borrell and Sinkevičius (EU), “everyone needs to play their part; let’s make every drop count”.

“Water scarcity already affects a quarter of the world’s population”. Yet “access to clean water and sanitation remains the best protection to reduce the spread of infections and save lives”. The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, and EU Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, wrote this in a joint statement to mark World Water Day. The ongoing health and climate crises make the problem even more serious. Indeed, “water stress is increasing in Europe”, the statement reads. Which is why the Green Deal was launched and the goal of climate neutrality was set, to contain “pressures on Europe’s rivers, lakes, coastal waters and groundwater” and to “move towards more sustainable agriculture using fewer pesticides”. A contribution will also come from the “Zero Pollution Ambition” that is “revamping our chemicals policy, reducing the presence of pharmaceuticals in water and soil, fighting micro plastics and supporting innovative practices and technologies”. There is also a need for “more cooperation and transparency in water governance at all levels”. The EU does not fail to look to the rest of the world as part of a “global action trough strong international cooperation, the benefits of which extend far beyond the water sector”. “Just this month – Borrell and Sinkevičius reported –, we are inaugurating in Djibouti a desalination plant powered with renewable energies and a wastewater treatment plant in the West Bank equipped with collection and irrigation networks to re-use water”. “Everyone needs to play their full part”, they concluded. “Let’s make every drop count”.
Valentina Bombelli