Water is essential to human life, to the health of our ecosystems and to European economies, yet it is under increasing stress due to overexploitation, rising demand and the effects of climate change.

The impacts are increasingly felt in our societies and economies. Since 2000, the European Commission’s Water Framework Directive (WFD) has been the main legal framework for water protection in Europe, aiming to ensure an integrated approach to water management, while respecting the integrity of whole ecosystems.

More recently, in 2023, the European Commission was drafting a ‘Water Resilience Initiative’, which has, for the moment, been withdrawn from the Commission’s agenda.

Already, different stakeholders have put in place public-private partnerships with long-term strategies to restore and protect freshwater ecosystems that need continued policy support.

Two days ahead of World Water Day, join this Euractiv Hybrid Conference to discuss what can and needs to be done to protect EU waters and ecosystems:

• What action can be taken to mitigate the recent rise in water-related disasters and the consequences for people and the economy?
• What role do the Water Framework Directive and the Water Resilience Initiative play in protecting waters and ecosystems?
• How does the withdrawal of the Water Resilience Initiative impact the EU’s water strategy?
• How do the interdependencies between climate, water systems, and natural ecosystems highlight the necessity for integrated environmental management approaches?
• And what role do public-private and cross-sectoral partnerships play in restoring water ecosystems? How can these initiatives be encouraged and scaled up?