EP will weniger Chemikalien im Wasser[en] 

EU water policies comprise a large body of legislation covering areas as diverse as flood management, bathing-water quality, chemicals in water, clean drinking water, groundwater protection and urban waste water. The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), adopted in 2000, was introduced to streamline the EU's large body of water legislation into one overarching strategy.

As part of the WFD, the Commission in 2001 adopted a list of 41 substances, including 33 "priority substances" and eight other pollutants that are considered potentially hazardous to the aquatic environment. Of the 33 priority substances, there is a further sub-classification for "priority hazardous substances," which must be phased-out of use in member states in less than 20 years.

In July 2006, the Commission put forward a subsequent proposal laying out measures for dealing with priority substances. The proposal also upgraded several substances from "priority" to "priority hazardous". In total, the Commission lists 13 priority hazardous substances out of 33 priority substances in its proposal.

The Parliament reacted to the proposal on 22 May with a first reading vote that pushes for the inclusion of 28 more priority substances, nearly doubling the existing list of 33. Parliament considers 22 of these 28 substances to be priority hazardous, and it voted to upgrade a further ten substances on the existing list to priority hazardous. 

Thus the Parliament is pushing for 61 priority substances, 45 of which are to be priority hazardous. Parliament is also urging the Commission to present a report by 2015 on implementation of the directive, and to propose stricter measures in 2016 if progress is not satisfactory.

The Greens/EFA group in the Parliament voted largely in favour of the first reading, but regrets "the adoption of several amendments in the plenary, which weakened other elements of the proposal, particularly those that exclude pollutants in sediments from being monitored".

Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) acknowledged positive the Parliament's vote to increase the number of chemicals on the list, but lamented that the body "yielded on several far-reaching exemptions under industry pressure," and were "dismayed that MEPs granted far-reaching exemptions which might seriously undermine the objective of the WFD." Sebastian Schönauer of Bund also reacted to the vote in reference to the WFD implementation, saying that: "Member States are required to improve the state of inland waters by 2015 and by 2020 at the latest, the marine environment must be virtually poison-free. But the European Parliament is also introducing provisions for emissions restrictions for certain polluters and for critical exemptions such as navigation."

Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council, welcomed the Parliament's vote on the Commission's proposal, saying that it "represents an additional step on the road to improving Europe's surface water." In reference to the "consistency and effectiveness of all Community legislative acts," the industry believes the "Parliament has taken this crucial aspect on board in reinforcing the WFD timeframes and procedures. The same consistency should be applied when a relatively large number of substances are added to the list of priority substances (PS) without having being subjected to the agreed prioritization methodology. Although the Commission is asked to ascertain whether they are also Priority Hazardous Substances (PHS), the WFD procedure stipulates that a scientific risk assessment of substances should be the first step to perform when classifying substances. Clear, efficient and practical rules that are followed by all parties are key for the industry to deliver on water quality."