Some days ago, European Environmental Bureau has raised “serious concerns” following “a private meeting in Stockholm between Commissioner for Environment Jessika Roswall and hand-picked industrial and mining industry lobbyists from Sweden”. The meeting, EEB stated, was about the Water Framework Directive.
Sergiy Moroz, European Environmental Bureau, Policy Manager for Nature, EEB has reported closed-door meetings between Commissioner Jessika Roswall and industrial and mining industry lobbyists from Sweden. What are you worried about?
European Commission has committed to review and already decided to revise the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in order to “promote circularity and access to critical raw materials in the EU”. This objective implies the lowering of water protection standards to respond to concerns raised in particular by the critical raw materials sector. Our analysis of those concerns, summarised in the publication “Industry’s role in water resilience: How some lead – and others wreck” showed if the Commission implemented the changes put forward by the polluters, they would be giving those industries the green light to carry out activities that are harmful for nature and people’s health, resulting in further pollution and degradation of our vulnerable freshwater ecosystems. Moreover, even if the Commission’s forthcoming proposal remains targeted to allowing more pollution only from the mining sector, there remains a danger in the fact that the scope of the revision can be broadened in the co decision process, as shown during the update of the EU’s water pollution standards, where Member States introduced new exemptions to the non-deterioration principle of the WFD.
Are we at a historic juncture where we are forced to choose between the ecological and digital transitions and water quality? Or can we bring these objectives together?
WFD is already about balancing interests between water users. Multiplying derogations, particularly if those would be sectoral ones, or loosening legal requirements to improve the water status, might shift this balance and have repercussions for other water users. The WFD recognises that water is a common good (recital 1) and that “water supply is a service of general interest” (recital 15), underlining the shared nature of its governance. For instance, weakening requirements to address water pollution from agriculture (nitrates, phosphorus, pesticides) would result in further shifting the burden of clean-up to drinking water customers, which is in total contradiction with the standards recently adopted under the recast of the Drinking Water Directive that require more action to address pollution at source.
The Commission proposed an update to the WFD1 already three years ago which provided additional flexibilities and extensive deadlines for Member States in tackling water pollution with pollutants of emerging concern such as PFAS. It went beyond the agreed mandate of the technical update of the directive by introducing two new exemptions from its environmental objectives. Rather than another revision of the WFD, companies need a stable and predictable regulatory framework that enables consistent implementation and improvement over time.
Is it a local issue that involves only Sweden?
No, but there is a very strong pressure coming from Swedish companies to revise/weaken the WFD and commissioner Roswall also from Sweden seems to be listening to only Swedish industry stakeholders as this roundtable highlighted.
The Swedish government, in its list of simplification proposals sent to the European Commission, calls on the Commission to find ways to balance the interests at stake in situations where there are competing objectives, specifically mentioning Article 4(7) of the WFD. But Article 4(7) already offers this balance, for example by allowing Member States to grant permits to harmful projects if they are deemed to be of overriding public interest. The perceived bottlenecks thus rather come from the fact that the competent Member State is not applying this exemption and using the flexibility offered by the WFD. As a result, the mining industry has chosen to lobby for changes to European policy rather than adjust its practices to reduce pollution and build trust with the local population. Member States must first be given a chance to adapt national rules following the upcoming guidance document, so that issues which are rather connected to the transposition of the WFD into national law than to the WFD itself can be identified and solved at the appropriate level (see annex on Mining in relation to the WFD in our briefing).
This is the situation in Europe: what can we presume for strategic projects under Critical Raw Materials Act (CRM) outside the EU?
Strategic CRM projects outside the EU risk being less transparent, less accountable, and subject to weaker environmental and social protections, with increased influence from industry and geopolitical priorities.
The mining industry claims that “Europe is at the forefront of sustainable and responsible mining practices with its cutting-edge technologies provided by EU suppliers for EU mines, with world leading ESG standards.” Rather than lowering environmental standards, such responsible practices should be encouraged and supported. For instance, Agnico Angle Finland invested €80 million in 2016-2020 in environmental measures for the Kittilä mine, such as a treatment facility which managed to reduce the sulfate content of the discharge water by 75%.
What do closed-door talks mean for European transparency and democracy?
When policymaking shifts into non-public, invitation-only settings with polluters lobbying to remove environmnetal safeguards it:
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- Limits scrutiny by citizens, media, and parliaments
- Weakens the EU’s transparency standards
- Risks breaching principles of open, evidence-based policymaking
These practices to wider risks:
- Erosion of democratic oversight (less role for Parliament/public debate)
- Weakened rule of law if standards are quietly dismantled
- Loss of public trust in EU institutions undermining the EU project itself.
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