1. WFD update September 2009 Andrea NÁM
Unit for “Protection of Water and the Marine Environment” DG ENV.D.2,
European Commission

2. Consultations on draft River Basin Management Plans
Directive timetable : start at the latest , run for 6 months
Serious delays in consultations in some Member States - knock-on effect on the RBMP deadline …
Expect legal challenges if requirements on public consultation not respected…

3. 2nd European Water Conference
2-3 April 2009, Brussels.
Focus : dRBMP consultations
Summary (informal) findings in draft RBMP – conference document !
Report available in EN, and summaries in all EU languages.
Posters and postcards available on webpage : water.europa.eu/participate 3

4. Consultations on draft river basin management plans*
On time?
11 Member States finished: FI, IE, UK, NL, DE, PL, CZ, SK, FR, LV
5 Member States consultations still ongoing : AT, EE, HU, RO, SW.
Partial consultation : BE (3 out of 4), ES (1 out of 24), LT (1 out of 4)
Not yet started ! CY, DK, EL, IT, MT, PT, SL
* Map shows August . September : SL started(?). NO, SW closed.
This Conference is held in the middle of the consultation period foreseen in the WFD for the draft river basin management plans, that should have been published by 22 December countries have published their draft plans to date, 3 more for some RBDs only. 9 countries have not published the draft plans yet.
According to the survey made by the consultants, draft plans published in HU, RO and SK show important gaps and are incomplete on important aspects. Some like HU indicate the intention to publish a more complete draft plan later on.

5. Compliance Conformity of transposition : Bad application so far :
WFD :
20 cases opened, a few more in the pipeline
Progress in 2009 – great effort shown in many Member States to respond to concerns !
Groundwater Directive : 20 Non-Communication cases on launched – 10 still missing ! Assessments starting now.
Bad application so far :
Still open (“non-communication”) or recently closed cases on art 3 (ES) and article 8 (EL, MT)
Serious concerns in many Member States of quality and completeness of Monitoring networks ! Legal action expected.
Checking of River Basin Management Plans : key challenge 2010 onwards for DG ENV …

6. Document on compliance checking WD meeting Paris December 2008
“The Commission believes this general approach is still valid and useful. However, some consideration has to be given to the timing of the exercise. The preparation phase (e.g. article 5 analysis) has already identified some issues that will merit a detailed analysis in any case. Experience from previous compliance checking shows that, if the three stages are taken one after the other, two years will not be enough to perform in-depth assessments of key issues. The Commission intends to perform in-depth analysis on a number of key issues in parallel to the screening exercise.”

7. New legislation
Commission Directive 2009/90/EC on technical specifications for chemical analysis and monitoring of water status
The Commission Directive laying down, pursuant to Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, technical specifications for chemical analysis and monitoring of water status has been adopted and enters into force on 21 August 2009.
The objective of this Directive is to establish common quality rules for chemical analysis and monitoring of water, sediment and biota carried out by Member States. The Directive shall be transposed within 2 years from entry into force. 7

8. New Communications / Reports
2nd Water Framework Directive implementation Report on implementation of article 8 (Monitoring networks) published (COM
White paper on adaptation to Climate change adopted – Staff working papers.
5th implementation report UWWTD,
Bathing Water Directive report season 2008, published 8

9. New publications
12 Water information notes on Water Framework Directive relevant themes : water.europa.eu/participate
English, all EU language in the pipeline.
New notes on Climate change, Links other legislation, public participation, Marine Strategy, Chemical pollution…

10. Eurobarometer on European’s attitudes to water (Eurobarometer, March 2009)
Water Quantity

11. Eurobarometer on European’s attitudes to water (Eurobarometer, March 2009)11

12. New Guidance documents
Guidance No 18 - Groundwater Status and Trend Assessment (WG C)  
Guidance No 19 - Surface water chemical monitoring  
Guidance No 20 - Exemptions to the environmental objectives 
Guidance No 21 - Guidance for reporting under the WFD 
Guidance No 22 - Updated WISE GIS guidance (Nov’2008)  
 Guidance No 23 - Eutrophication Assessment in the Context of European Water Policies (spring 2009)
Guidance No 18 - Groundwater Status and Trend Assessment (WG C)  
Guidance No 19 - Surface water chemical monitoring  
Guidance No 20 - Exemptions to the environmental objectives 
Guidance No 21 - Guidance for reporting under the WFD 
Guidance No 22 - Updated WISE GIS guidance (Nov’2008)  
 Guidance No 23 - Eutrophication Assessment in the Context of European Water Policies 12

13. River Basin Management in a changing climate - a Guidance document
Guidance document covering WFD and the Floods Directive including the Water Scarcity & Droughts strategy
Lead by Strategic Steering Group on Climate change and water (Co-chaired DE/COM)
Foreseen for adoption Swedish Water Directors, early Dec 2009

14. New work programme Common Implementation Strategy
5th generation work programme
Continued work on ecological status, chemical status, groundwater, floods, reporting…
New activities on biodiversity, economics …
Adoption foreseen Swedish Water Directors

15. Work Program 2009 SSG on WFD and agriculture State of play
23 September 2009 15

16. SSG WP 2009 16

17. SSG WP 2009 X x X (FAS) A detailed work program for 2009
Expected outputs and deliverables
March
April
May
June
July
August
Sept
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
A detailed work program for 2009 X
A draft mandate for x
approval
A final report on the outcomes under the mandate to inform the SCG and the Water Directors
A first draft for the detailed work programme for 2010
An in-depth assessment of the RD programs as regards water management
A paper summarising and prioritising the issues need to be addressed in the light of the new CAP achievements
A working paper will be developed including a summary of needs for further action regarding the Farm Advisory System
X (FAS)
Assessment of the agricultural measures included in the draft River Basin Management Plans
started
(delayed)
Report on the exchange of views on ways of increasing the irrigation efficiency
Summaries of the group meetings 17

18. Thank you for your attention!18