Letter to Commissioner Roswall: Closing the implementation and enforcements gap in the Nitrates Directive

This letter from the EEB to Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall urges the European Commission not to revise the EU’s vital Nitrates Directive, but instead to strengthen its implementation, enforcement, and data reporting. The authors stress that healthy freshwater and coastal ecosystems are essential for Europe’s resilience and competitiveness, and that the Directive already provides flexible tools for Member States.

It highlights that nitrate pollution remains widespread, damaging biodiversity, threatening public health, and imposing significant costs – citing examples from Spain, France, and Denmark. Progress on water quality has stalled, data gaps persist, and several national courts have ruled that governments are failing to meet their obligations.

The letter argues that revising the Directive would only create delays and legal uncertainty, while more decisive enforcement, better monitoring, and closing information gaps would deliver real improvements in water protection and help achieve wider EU environmental objectives.