The EU commissioners approved European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) Right2Water and agreed a list of commitments in line with it, Vice-president and commissioner for inter-institutional relations and administration Maroš Šefčovič announced.

„My colleagues and I have decided to say yes to the very first successful European Citizens’ Initiative, Right2Water.We have listened to the concerns which motivated citizens to make this call for action, and we are replying with a substantial list of commitments for the coming months and years,” Šefčovič said in a statement.

“As a direct result of this first ever exercise in pan-European, citizen-driven democracy, water quality, infrastructure, sanitation and transparency will all benefit – for people in Europe and in developing countries,” he added.

The EU has already been working in this field, the commissioner said, giving an example that since 2007, more than 2.6 million people across nine different EU member states have been provided with an improved supply of drinking water thanks to EU financial support.

At the global level, the EU and its member states currently provide around €1.5 billion every year for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene programmes in developing countries. This makes the European Union the largest single donor in the water sector.

“Of course, we can always do more. And what the Commission has tried to do in light of this European Citizens’ Initiative, is identify areas where more efforts − at EU or national level – need to be made,” Šefčevič said.

The commissioners agreed with the ECI supporters that more could be done to improve the quality of drinking water for small supplies, which today provide water to more than 60 million people in the EU.

“As a result of the ECI we will launch an EU-wide public consultation on the drinking water legislation in view of improving access to quality water in the EU. No doubt this will lead to a revision of the existing legislation,” Šefčevič said.

The Commission also commits itself to ensuring that the human rights dimension of access to safe drinking water and sanitation – which must be of high quality, physically accessible, and affordable – continues to guide its future action, the commissioner said.

Integral statement of commissioner Šefčevič: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-14-76_en.htm

More about the ECI Right2Water: http://www.right2water.eu/