EU water strategy takes centre stage at Mediterranean meeting

• Roswall spoke at the 2nd Union for the Mediterranean ministerial meeting on water.
• She said the Mediterranean is warming around 20% faster than the global average.
• The EU water resilience strategy will be the EU's flagship for the 2026 UN Water Conference.

Commissioner Roswall used her opening remarks in the 2nd Union for the Mediterranean ministerial meeting on water to push cooperation, investment and policy alignment across the region. She said the EU is represented as co-president of the Union for the Mediterranean at the meeting.

EU water strategy takes centre stage at Mediterranean meeting

Roswall said the Mediterranean is warming around 20% faster than the global average. She said droughts, floods, pollution and water scarcity are already affecting citizens, farmers, ecosystems and economies.

She said the last six months brought unprecedented heat and lack of rainfall in the EU. She also said Europe has seen threats to energy supply, trade and growth this summer.

Roswall said today's ministerial declaration can help improve sustainable water management in the region. She pointed to support for investment, digitalisation and the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems nexus.

She said the EU's Pact for the Mediterranean provides a strategic framework for cooperation. She added that the 2026 UN Water Conference in Abu Dhabi in December will be a moment to showcase progress on access to water and sanitation, green infrastructure, transboundary cooperation and enforceable policy.

Roswall said the EU Water Resilience Strategy will be the EU and its member states' flagship for the conference. She said the strategy has three objectives: restoring and protecting the water cycle from source to sea, building a water-smart economy, and ensuring access to clean and affordable water and sanitation for all.

She said the EU is already translating those objectives into practice through investment in infrastructure, water efficiency, urban planning, digital solutions, flood prevention, smart irrigation and transboundary cooperation. She also said the bloc is advancing guidance on drought management plans and an ambition to improve water efficiency by at least 10% by 2030.

Roswall said financing remains a critical challenge and that more public and private capital is needed for resilient water and sanitation services, ecosystem restoration, water-efficient technologies and climate adaptation. She said financing must be matched by enabling policy frameworks, stronger institutions, workforce capacity and better project pipelines.

She said transboundary water cooperation is indispensable, noting that more than 60% of the world's freshwater flows through shared basins. Roswall thanked Italy as host and said she looked forward to fruitful discussions.