Post Tags: activism

European Parliament Makes Strong Call to Implement Human Right to Water; Commission Should Listen

Today, the Plenary of the European Parliament approved the report on the European Citizen’s Initiative – Right to Water [1], as a result of a grassroots campaign that gathered nearly two million signatures from across Europe. The European Parliament called on the Commission to come forward with legislative proposals to make the human right to water and sanitation a reality. A majority of the Members of the European Parliament endorsed water as a public good, vital to human life and dignity, which should not be treated as a commodity.

“The European Commission cannot keep on ignoring the demands from nearly two million citizens, the European Parliament, the European Social and the Economic Committee for the implementation of a human right already recognized by the UN,” said David Sánchez, campaigns officer at Food & Water Europe. “Continued inaction would just result in a great loss of credibility for the European institutions.”

The report also demanded the European Commission to abstain from pushing for water privatization in the context of austerity measures in countries like Greece, and called on the Commission to permanently exclude water, sanitation and wastewater disposal from internal market rules and from trade agreements.

“Today’s vote marked a great victory for citizens. Now is the time for the European Commission to finally react,” added Sánchez.

Contact: David Sánchez, Campaigns officer, Food & Water Europe, +32 (0) 2893 1045 (land), +32 (0) 485 842 604 (mobile), dsanchez(at)fweurope.org [1] http://right2water.eu/

European Parliament Committee Supports the Human Right to Water

Brussels – The Committee on the Environment of the European Parliament voted today on a report about the European Citizen’s Initiative (ECI) on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation, as a result of a campaign that gathered nearly two million signatures from across Europe. Members of the European Parliament confirmed their strong support for the human right to water.

“European citizens have time and again spoken out in favour of water as a human right and a common good. Whenever asked, they have massively supported public water management,” said David Sánchez, Campaigns Officer at Food & Water Europe. “MEPs in the Committee on Environment are asking the European Commission to act accordingly. We expect the Parliament’s Plenary vote in September to confirm this result and the Commission to finally listen to EU citizens.”

By approving all the compromise amendments, the Committee: 

  • Considers it regrettable that the European Commission’s answer to the ECI lacked any real ambition and calls on the Commission to come forward with legislative proposals to make the human right to water a reality.
  • Considers that water is a public good, vital to human life and dignity, and should not be treated as a commodity.
  •  Rejects water cut-offs and the forced switching-off of the water supply as a violation of human rights. 
  • Expresses its concern about countries like Spain, Portugal, Greece or Ireland, where water services are still being privatized and calls the European Commission not to push for water privatization in the context of austerity measures.
  • Notes the growing trend of remunicipalization of water services around Europe.
  • Calls on the Commission to permanently exclude water, sanitation and wastewater disposal from internal market rules. – Considers it imperative that production, distribution and treatment of water and sanitation are excluded from any trade agreements, including TTIP and TISA.
  • Highlights the importance of public-public partnerships as a non-profit model of cooperation among water operators.
  • Demands that EU development policies should fully integrate universal access to water and sanitation based on not-for-profit principles and solidarity.
  • Insists that water, sanitation and hygiene in developing countries should be given high priority and water should be also be a priority in the Sustainable Development Goals and the COP21.

Contact: David Sánchez, Campaigns officer, Food & Water Europe, +32 (0) 2893 1045 (land), +32 (0) 485 842 604 (mobile), dsanchez(at)fweurope.org F

The European Commission Forgets About the Human Right to Water

Brussels – The European Commission has published the statistical results of the public consultation on the Drinking Water Directive [1], their flagship reaction to the first successful European Citizen’s Initiative (ECI) on the human right to water and sanitation. According to Food & Water Europe, the review of this Directive, the only major initiative about water included in the Commission’s Working Plan for 2015, does not address the demands of citizens who support the human right to water.

David Sánchez, campaigns officer at Food & Water Europe said, “Despite their propaganda, the answer of the European Commission to the first ever successful ECI was just a compilation of already ongoing actions. And the public consultation on the drinking water directive simply does not address any of the demands of the 1,8 million European citizens that supported the initiative. Even worse, this is the only major action about water in their agenda for 2015.”

The demands of the ECI on the Right to Water [2] included implementing the human right to water and sanitation as approved by the UN in 2010; excluding water services from liberalization; and increasing EU efforts to achieve universal access to water and sanitation. The Commission only responded positively to the need to achieve universal access to water and sanitation.

Sánchez added, “With their attitude, the European Commission is doing its best to disappoint the expectations of the massive number of citizens that mobilized using this new tool, the ECI, implemented as a way to make the European Union more participatory and more accessible to the people. If the Commission continues in this manner, it will just broaden the gap between Brussels-based politicians and European citizens.

The European Commission is still analyzing the answers to the open questions in the consultation, the only space available to remind the Commission about the real demands of the ECI. The European Parliament is also currently working on a report on this initiative, which should be up for a vote in the coming months.

Contact: David Sánchez, Campaigns officer, Food & Water Europe, +32 (0) 2893 1045 (land), +32 (0) 485 842 604 (mobile), dsanchez(at)fweurope.org

[1] The statistical report of the consultation can be checked here

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/consultations/pdf/results_drinking_water.pdf

[2] More information about the European Citizen’s Initiative on the human right to water and sanitation

http://right2water.eu/

EU Commissioner Oettinger should give up his selective hearing in discussions on an EU Energy Security Strategy

Categories

Food

Brussels – With the growing concern about the reliability of Russian gas supplies to the EU in the wake of the crisis in Ukraine, Energy Commissioner Oettinger has consistently prioritised the voices of the fossil fuel industry in discussions on the EU’s European Energy Security Strategy. On May 5, Commissioner Oettinger hosted an “EU Energy Security Conference”, inviting only the up-, mid and downstream oil & gas industry to share their views. Representatives of the renewables and energy efficiency industries were not invited. Neither were representatives of civil society groups. In doing so, Commissioner Oettinger goes against the letter and the spirit of the European Council conclusions, which expressly state that “[m]oderating energy demand through enhanced energy efficiency should be the first step, which will also contribute to other energy and climate objectives”. Food & Water Europe fails to see how an exclusive focus on the EU’s oil and gas sector will deliver clean, secure and affordable energy to EU citizens and business. Moreover, promoting a bigger and more diverse gas supply – with more pipelines, LNG terminals and shale gas – risks locking the EU into a continued reliance on fossil fuels, particularly at a time of sagging gas demand. More renewables and energy efficiency, particularly in the heating & cooling sector, must be at the core of any strategy to reduce the EU’s import dependency.

“Import dependency depends on two variables, supply and demand. Steering the debate towards a focus on the supply-side only serves the corporate agenda of Big Oil & Gas”, said Food & Water Europe Director Geert De Cock. “Commissioner Oettinger is completely ignoring solutions that would reduce the demand for natural gas in the EU”.

About 40% of the EU’s annual gas consumption is used for the heating and cooling of buildings. By ignoring this fact, the European Commission has made it impossible to come up with meaningful and cost-effective answers on the EU’s growing import dependency in the long term.

An ambitious energy efficiency target of 40% for 2030 – as called for by the European Parliament – will result in a ~ 20% drop in annual gas consumption. Increased use of renewables, particularly in the heating & cooling sector, could further reduce the EU’s reliance on gas imports by another ~ 10%. Another 8-15% in additional gas savings can be expected from electricity savings, if renewables continue to increase their share in the energy mix. In conclusion, investing in renewables and energy efficiency can generate gas savings of ~ 40%, exceeding all gas imports from Russia. Such a strategy will also have added benefits in terms of climate targets, developing cutting edge-technology and jobs.

For Food & Water Europe, reducing the EU’s gas consumption is a more realistic and cost-effective strategy than replacing gas supplies from Russia with alternative supplies of gas, be it Norway, new pipelines, more LNG or domestic shale gas production. Developing these alternative supplies of gas will be extremely difficult and time-consuming, fail to address security of supply concerns and come at great expense. 

Contact: Geert Decock tel. +32 (0)2 893 10 45, mobile +32 (0)484 629.491, gdecock(at)fweurope.org 

European Commission fails to take real steps towards the recognition of the Human Right to Water

Categories

Food

The European Water Movement regrets that the European Commission decided not to take real actions, ignoring 1,9 million citizens

Brussels – The European Commission (EC) made public today the communication on the European Citizen’s Initiative on the Right to Water. The communication fails to respond to 1,9 citizens asking for a legislative provision excluding water and sanitation from “internal market rules” and liberalization. The EC’s reaction is lacking in real legislative proposals, and it boils down to a compilation of already ongoing actions plus the announcement of a public consultation on the drinking water directive whose outcomes will not be binding.

While the Commission acknowledges the importance of the Human Right to Water and Sanitation and it confirms water as a public good, the EC fails to propose legislation that recognizes this right. The Commission also commits to promote universal access to water and sanitation in its development policies, including the promotion of public-public partnerships.

Water and sanitation services were excluded from the concession directive thanks to public pressure, but the Commission has not committed in its Communication to explicitly exclude these services from the trade negotiations (such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership – TTIP).

The answer of the European Commission to the first European Citizen’s Initiative (ECI) to achieve the required support will not reassure European citizens who question the democratic legitimacy of the European institutions. The European Water Movement (of which Food and Water Europea makes part) considers that overall the Communication does not address the actual demands to guarantee the Human Right to Water and Sanitation, and implies a bad precedent for the future of the ECI mechanism.

Water privatization remains a very concrete menace in the EU. In countries like Greece and Portugal, the Troika is pushing for water privatization, and more and more citizens are being deprived of water access in municipalities where water supply is managed by private companies. In line with the signatures collected for the Initiative, citizens are fighting against water privatization across the EU, with many examples of massive mobilizations in Italy with the 2011 binding referendum, the local consultations in Madrid and Berlin, more recent mobilizations in El Puerto de Santa María (Spain) and upcoming local public consultations in Thesaloniki (Greece) or Alcazar de San Juan (Spain). 

Water should be a commons, not a commodity. The European Citizen’s Initiative expected the European Commission to propose legislation implementing the Human Right to Water and Sanitation as recognized by the United Nations, and to promote the provision of water and sanitation as essential public services for all. The European Water Movement will continue to support local struggles in places such as Thesaloniki or Alcazar de San Juan to ensure that water is declared a common good. And it will remind candidates in the elections for the European Parliament of the importance of recognizing that water is a human right, to concretely act towards its implementation and to avoid liberalization and commodification of water and sanitation services. 

For more information:

David Sanchez, dsanchez(at)fweurope.org, +32 485842604

Caterina Amicucci, camicucci(at)recommon.org +39 3498520789

The European Water Movement is an open, inclusive and pluralistic network of movements, social organizations, local committees and unions whose goal is to reinforce the recognition of water as a commons and as a fundamental universal right, an essential element for all living beings. We are part of the global water justice movement. We are united to fight against privatisation and commodification of this vital good, and to construct a public and communal management of water, founded on the democratic participation of citizens and of workers.

www.europeanwater.org