The European Water Industry

This report analyses the EU water industry for water supply and waste water treatment. It is structured around a country-by-country description for each member state, as well as a discussion of key issues for the whole of the EU. Statistics are given for freshwater abstraction, main water uses, sewage treatment and the quality of bathing water. For each country, the report provides a discussion of market structure with particular reference to the way the water industry is organised and the degree to which the main players are public or private companies.

Developments in the EU water industry are driven by the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) and associated legislation. This legislation is being transposed into the national legislation of each member state according to a staged approach with a final deadline of 2015, by which time a `good status' situation should have been reached for EU waters. This legislation was drawn up before the recent expansion of the EU. The addition of ten new member states in Eastern and Northern Europe in May 2004 have added to the challenge of implementing EU legislation to the new total of 25 countries.

From the report's discussion of water abstraction statistics, some key points are clear. Most of the EU's freshwater supply is from surface water (composed with ground water). Some countries rely heavily on surface water entering their borders from neighbouring countries, which can raise concerns about the continuity and quality of water entering these countries. With 20% of all surface water in the EU seriously threatened with pollution, urgent attention towards the water industry is still required. One of the features of water resources in the EU is their uneven distribution in relation to demand. In Scandinavia, which has a low population and low agricultural requirements, there are vast water resources. In contrast, the Mediterranean region, with its hot summer periods and large agricultural industries, has less access to water.

Historically, water services have been owned and operated by public bodies mostly at municipal level. Taken as a whole, there are thousands of public bodies operating in the EU water market. Some of these operate as companies and some work together in consortia. The report comments on the debate about the role of private companies in the EU water industry. In many countries, public-private partnerships play an important role � whereas, in a small number of countries, the private sector plays a major or at least significant role. Private companies are expanding their business in the EU, especially in some of the new member states, but progress is slow and non-uniform in the context of the whole EU.

Flood protection and prevention is now receiving attention due to serious flooding of major rivers causing hundreds of deaths, displacement of hundreds of thousands of people and extensive environmental damage. Funding of the EU's water industry is a major issue and a variety of financial sources have been tapped, including special sources for pre-accession states. Among the consequences of investment in the water industry have been increases in the domestic price of water, which have raised objections �especially in countries where water had been cheap.

Regarding the future, water conservation will be an important theme. In the southern part of the EU, a desalination plant is being installed to assist with water supply in local areas. It is most unlikely that there will ever be a unified EU water market (as with electricity and gas), due to the major obstacle of interlinking discrete aspects of natural water resources. Competition will be manifest through the competitive merits of the various combinations of public and private companies demonstrating that they can operate over a long period to give a satisfactory service at an acceptable cost.