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EU assembly seeks to speed up clean water supplies |
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| FRANCE: February 17, 2000 | ||
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STRASBOURG - The European Parliament voted yesterday to toughen draft EU legislation on cleaning up water supplies in a move which could hit the profits of chemical firms and utilities and is certain to be opposed by EU governments.
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With the pollution of the Danube river fresh in their minds, the Parliament called for the elimination of discharges of hazardous and radioactive substances in water supplies by 2020. They also voted to force EU countries to introduce by 2010 water pricing policies based on the polluter-pays principle and to accelerate the entry-into-force of the directive, which will incorporate, and in some cases supplement, a raft of existing EU laws on the quality of drinking and bathing water. "This result is remarkable given the tremendous combined lobbying pressure from governments and the chemical industry," Alexander de Roo, a Dutch Green member of the assembly, said. The Parliament's proposals face, however, almost certain opposition from European Union environment ministers when they review the legislation later this spring. Ministers agreed last year the directive need not be fully implemented until 23 years after the entry-into-force of the directive and even then countries could ask for more time. The Parliament voted to cut the delay before full implementation to 11 years and to toughen the criteria under which countries could seek derogations. Roo predicted the two sides, which under complicated EU procedures will have to try and negotiate a settlement later this year, would also fail to see eye-to-eye on the issue of water pricing.
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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