Exemptions and Disproportionate Costs CIS workshop Copenhagen, 10 and 11 April 2008 on Exemptions and Disproportionate Costs Introduction European Commission

Aims On the basis of the agreement of the Water Directors in Lisbon, the aim should be to progress towards a common understanding on key open issues about disproportionality and the application of exemptions Move the basis of discussion from theoretical level to practical examples and case studies Keep focus on open issues!

Key issues Difference 4.4 and 4.5 in disproportionality analysis Role and use of affordability / ability to pay Cost of non-action Recovery of costs of water services Financing of measures Transparency Scale of the assessment

To be discussed in sessions Case studies 20 case studies submitted from 6 countries, Navigation Task Force and WWF To be discussed in sessions The intention is not to ‘approve’ case studies, but to use them to Illustrate methodologies and approaches Serve as a basis for open discussion Extract useful elements that can be transferred to a paper for the Water Directors

Prepared by consultant in close cooperation with EC Input paper Prepared by consultant in close cooperation with EC Aims at giving all participants a starting point Reflects the state of play of discussions in 2007 Repeats identified open points of end 2007 Introduces case studies and suggest questions for sessions Conceived as a tool to help discussions, not to pre-empt them! And it will not be updated after the meeting

Structure of the workshop Today: Presentation on general approaches (first reactions and exchange of views, identification of some elements for further discussion) Parallel sessions (main discussion sessions) Tomorrow Report back to plenary groups Presentation and discussion of conclusions – identification of elements to be included in the paper for the Water Directors

Comments by Drafting Group Exemptions Follow up After the workshop, a paper will be made for Water Directors reflecting the conclusions progress achieved towards common understanding remaining open points Comments by Drafting Group Exemptions Discussion at Strategic Coordination Group 14 May Discussion at Water Directors’ meeting 16-17 June Inclusion in comprehensive guidance end 2008

EC expectations Appreciation for all case studies received Important for us in discussions: Maintain high level of ambition in WFD implementation: exemptions should be the exception Comparability of implementation Not business as usual in water ‘mismanagement’ WFD should be a driver for change! Transparency in motivation Looking forward to the discussions today and tomorrow