EU agrees on bathing water law revision

Environment Daily 1961, 13/10/05

Governments and MEPs have reached a conciliation deal to revise 1976 EU rules on bathing waters.  The agreement strengthens minimum quality standards for registered coastal and inland waters, but the compliance deadline remains at 2015.

UK environment minister Elliot Morley saluted the deal, saying that the new law would "modernise rules which have been in place for 30 years, further improve health protection at an acceptable price, provide better information to the public and reduce red tape."

But EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas gave a lukewarm reception.  The European Commission "would have preferred the tighter standards that were included in our original proposal," he said.  But the new agreement was "acceptable".

The agreement was announced on Wednesday afternoon.  The main change to a common position agreed by ministers last year is a stricter minimum standard for pollution by intestinal entercocci bacteria.  For coastal waters the mark is tightened from 200 to 185 per millilitre, and for inland waters from 360 to 330 per ml.

According to European Commission figures the new minimum quality standards will mean the risk of contracting health problems after a visit will be around 7.5-8%, compared with 9% in the common position.

The parliament's second reading position would have meant a risk of around 6.4%.  Current rules imply a risk of 12-15%.

European parliament rapporteur Jules Maaten said the assembly's "stubbornness" in the conciliation talks had led to a "substantial reduction of the health risks to bathers".  Nevertheless, MEPs had to give up two other big demands.

The first would have advanced the minimum standard compliance deadline from 2015 to 2011.  This was rejected by both council and commission.

The second would have removed the new "sufficient" water quality class within eight years - effectively increasing minimum quality standards.

This was also too much for the council.

Several other changes have been made to the common position:  the deadline to establish detailed "profiles" of each bathing water site has been brought forward by one year to five years after the law's entry into force.  Authorities will have to produce annual pollution reduction plans for beaches that only just meet the minimum standards.

And member states will have two years, not three, to write the directive into national law.

Follow-up: EU conciliation committee http://www.europarl.eu.int/code/default_en.htm, 

press releases from the European parliament http://www.europarl.eu.int/news/expert/infopress_page/064-1384-285-10-41-911-20051012IPR01381-12-10-2005-2005--false/default_en.htm,

council of ministers http://ue.eu.int/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/misc/86568.pdf,

 UK environment ministry http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/latest/2005/water-1013.htm,

European Commission http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/05/1264,

Jules Maaten http://alde.europarl.eu.int/2/GJOCCMBCDOHADIDFHBLPAOOCPDB19AF4F39DCNG3BY9LI7TOA/docs/DLS/2005-STAFF-0864-01-EN.htm.