The EU Water Framework Directive: A modern and powerful tool to provide clean, healthy, flowing waters

Europe’s water crisis – from droughts and floods to pollution and declining water quality – is driven not only by climate change but by the chronic failure to enforce existing EU water laws. The Water Framework Directive (WFD), in place since 2000, aims to achieve good status for all water bodies by 2027, yet only 39.5% of surface waters meet this goal today. This shortfall reflects political inaction, not legal limitations. With the EU’s Water Resilience Strategy now depending on WFD implementation, 2027 marks a vital test of whether the EU can turn environmental ambition into real delivery.

This briefing is published by the Living Rivers Europe coalition, uniting six major environmental and angling organisations: WWF’s European network, the European Anglers Alliance, European Environmental Bureau, European Rivers Network, Wetlands International Europe, and The Nature Conservancy. Representing over 40 million people, the coalition works to restore healthy, wildlife-rich rivers and ensure full enforcement of the WFD as a cornerstone for sustainable water management in Europe.