On 17 September the President of the European Commission announced that “water resilience is the main priority of her second term of office”, and that she had therefore chosen Jessika Roswall (Jessika Roswall) as the new head of environment policy
On 17 September, Swedish government minister Jessika Roswall was appointed to oversee the environment, water resilience and competitive economy portfolio in the next European Commission, leading the EU's response to increasingly frequent periods of drought and flooding. The 51-year-old Jessika Roswall will have to draw up the water resilience strategy that Ursula von der Leyen postponed earlier this year following protests from civil society groups. Announcing Roswall's appointment, von der Leyen said that the question of water resources would be one of the main priorities in the years ahead.
Roswall, currently Sweden's minister for EU affairs and a member of the same European People's Party (EPP) political family as von der Leyen, gave thanks for the trust placed in her and for a portfolio that will be “key to boosting EU competitiveness and the transition away from fossil fuels”.
Emma Wiesner (Sweden/Renew Europe), a member of parliament representing the liberal wing, welcomed her compatriot's nomination, saying she would be glad to work together on a new water policy package, which she called a “Blue Deal”. German lawmaker Peter Liese (EPP) said that Roswall was “a good choice”, while calling for “a more pragmatic approach to environmental policy”.
“First and foremost, less bureaucracy, and where objectives conflict — for example between chemical bans and climate protection — decisions must be taken in favour of climate protection,” said Peter Liese.
The Swedish politician was one of four commissioners appointed on 17 September who will be central to delivering the European “Green Deal” legislation, including the legally binding target of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. The other commissioners are Spain's minister for the ecological transition, Teresa Ribera (“Clean and Just Transition”), the Netherlands' Wopke Hoekstra (climate) and Denmark's minister for development and climate, Dan Jørgensen (energy and housing).
Asked how decisions would be taken by commissioners whose portfolios overlap, von der Leyen explained that “the guiding principle is coordination”, pointing to “the reality that everything is interconnected”.
Sarah Johansson (Sarah Johansson), senior policy officer for water pollution prevention at the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), stressed the importance of lawmakers implementing existing environmental legislation, such as the Water Framework Directive, and of systematically addressing the root causes of the triple crisis of climate, biodiversity and pollution.
“[The next environment commissioner] will have a crucial responsibility to protect and restore the health of Europe's freshwater ecosystems, in order to deliver a water-resilient Europe that provides clean water in sufficient quantities for future generations,” Johansson told Euronews.
WWF Europe director Ester Asin (Ester Asin) said that actual progress on delivering climate action and advancing the green transition would depend largely on the specific mandates of each of von der Leyen's 26 commissioners and on their willingness to work with one another.
“We need to keep clarifying the role of nature restoration and protection, particularly in relation to climate change adaptation and water resilience,” Asin added.
Speaking last week at an environmental conference in https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/, von der Leyen pointed to the urgency of addressing water issues, saying that “by 2050 the world could face floods and restrictions on water use”. That urgency was underlined by a recent call from Portugal's minister, backed by a further 21 member states, to increase water supply security in Europe.
According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), around 20% of Europe's territory and 30% of its population suffer from water scarcity in any given year, and the associated economic costs come to roughly 9 billion euros a year, not counting the damage done to ecosystems. The EU's environmental monitoring body also estimates that, by the end of the century, addressing the effects of water scarcity could reach 65 billion euros a year, with the losses felt mainly in agriculture and food systems and in the energy sector, as well as in public water supply.
The Commission has likewise calculated that the total cost of reducing flood risks over the period from 2016 to 2021 already stands at at least 14 billion euros.
Tania Pentcheva (Tania Pentcheva), director of European government and industry relations at the global water technology company Xylem, called on Roswall to draw up a “European water security strategy” within the first 100 days of the new Commission and to ensure that water policy is aligned with the “Clean Industrial Deal”, which von der Leyen has pledged to present by that same deadline.
“That includes working closely with the President of the Commission and the member states to support their assessments of water scarcity and vulnerability, and steering the investment needed to make water resilience in Europe a reality,” Pentcheva stressed.