(2 June, 2025) As the European Commission prepares to unveil its Water Resilience Package, EPSU reiterates the urgent need for a water strategy that puts people, workers and the planet first – and not profit.
Europe is facing a water crisis. From leakages, catastrophic floods to intensifying droughts, the climate emergency is already disrupting access to clean water and sanitation across the continent. Europe needs a strategy that prioritises water security – but that strategy must recognise water as a human right, not a commodity. Any credible Water Resilience Strategy must guarantee universal access to clean and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all – as enshrined by the EU’s first-ever successful European Citizens’ Initiative, Right2Water.
EPSU and its affiliates represent the workers who deliver water services every day. We know from experience that public ownership and democratic control are the best ways to safeguard water for future generations. That means the EU Strategy must not promote privatisation, nor outsourcing and Private partnerships. We expect it should not seek commercialisation of water services. Water must be protected as a commons - not opened up to the market which fails to deliver the investments needed. The experience of the failing privatisation of water services in the UK is telling.
EPSU calls for a Water Resilience Strategy that:
- Guarantees universal access to clean, affordable water and sanitation;
- Preserves public ownership and excludes water services from further liberalisation;
- Prioritises public investment, not private profit;
- Centres nature-based solutions that restore ecosystems and address pollution at the source;
- Applies the Polluter Pays Principle to hold polluters accountable;
- Recognises and protects water and wastewater workers, ensuring decent work, health and safety, and union involvement.
“The European Commission’s growing tendency to push for market solutions is very worrying,” says Jan Willem Goudriaan, EPSU General Secretary. “The market has proven that is not capable of running strategic sectors that are key for human life and the economy – and that is very much the case of water. The Commission needs to listen to the citizens who demanded a human rights based approach to water over a decade ago.”
Commissioner Roswall’s mission letter and the European Council’s Strategic Agenda both point towards a push for increased private investment in cross-border infrastructure as a solution. While resilient water systems do require investment, this cannot come at the cost of democratic control or public accountability. Water must not be treated as just another market opportunity – it is a human right.
This strategy must deliver real resilience, not just commercial opportunities. It must put people and the planet before profit – and support the public services and public service workers at the heart of water access and climate adaptation.
Read EPSU and AK Europa’s joint letter to EU Commission on the Water Resilience Strategy here.
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