Full Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education, Issue ...

Water Governance at the European Union81transpose and implement the minimum standardsapproved at the European level mainly in theform of directives 7 . Therefore, directives on watermust be incorporated into the domestic law of itsmember states offering an indication of futuredevelopments in national water laws.The white paper on European Union governance 8recommended the use of appropriate legislativeinstruments to facilitate compliance with EuropeanCommunity law. It also recommended that morefrequent use be made of the “framework directives,”as they are less complicated texts, offer greaterflexibility with respect to their implementation, andtend to be agreed to more quickly by the counciland the European parliament.European Community Water Law andPolicyAs a result of the First Environmental ActionProgram of 1973, water legislation was one ofthe first sectors to be covered by the EuropeanCommunity environmental policy (Lanz andScheuer 2001). European Community legislationto protect water quality originated in 1973 withthe adoption of a directive prohibiting the saleand use of certain detergents with a low level ofbiodegradability (Sands 2004). Today more than 25water-related directives and decisions are found.The first legislative approach (1975-1980)used two kinds of techniques. Thus, we finddirectives and decisions providing environmentalquality standards (EQS) for specific types ofwater (surface water, fish water, shellfish water,bathing water and drinking water directives)and establishing emission limit values (ELV)for specific water uses (dangerous substancesdirective and the ground water directive). Thesecond approach to water legislation (1980-1991)used new techniques (Nitrates and Urban WasteWater Directives) and completed the dangeroussubstances directive through daughter directiveson specific substances.In spite of this developed legal framework,nine member states were found guilty by theEuropean Court of Justice for not complyingwith water legislation in 42 cases concerning17 directives (Demmke and Unfried 2001). Theexistence of diverse regulatory instruments aswell as growing environmental problems derivedfrom the intensification of economic water usesrequired more coherent action from the EuropeanCommunity in the field of water. After five yearsof negotiation in the European Community,the Water Framework Directive was approvedat the end of 2000 and Members States had totranspose it into their national laws before 22December 2003. Just a few months before thatdate, the European Environment Agency (EEA)reported some progress achieved in the ecologicalquality of rivers, reducing pollution by oxygenconsumingsubstances and phosphorus as well aswater abstractions, except for southern Europe(European Environment Agency 2003). However,it also warned on areas where no progress had takenplace: nitrate pollution mainly from agriculture,over withdrawal for irrigation, energy use andtourism in southern Europe, and the presence ofpesticides in ground water and drinking water(European Environment Agency 2003).The Water Framework Directive: AnInstrument for Good Water Governance inthe EUThis Directive introduces key elements toachieve effective water governance at the EuropeanUnion level, a coherent and effective legal andinstitutional framework, water-pricing policies,public participation and an integrated waterresources management system (Barreira 2003). Itprovides an umbrella for the implementation ofthe various instruments of European Union waterpolicy as well as introducing new standards andtools for the protection of the ecological qualityof waters. As a result, until the Water FrameworkDirective becomes fully operational, the currentEuropean Community Water legislation is inforce 9 .The Water Framework Directive introduced aremarkable change in community water legislation.This policy moved from protection of particularwaters of special interest such as nature areas,specific aquatic organisms or drinking water, toprotection and use based on overall appreciationof the hydrology and ecology of the entire naturalcycle of each river basin (Olsen 2001).Its purpose is to establish a framework for theprotection of all waters, which include inlandsurface waters, transitional waters, coastal watersJOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY WATER RESEARCH & EDUCATIONUCOWR