Brussels, 4 December 2025 — WAREG – European Water Regulators hosted the 4th European Forum on the Regulation of Water Services (EFRWS25) at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, bringing together Europe’s water regulators, EU institutions, financial institutions, utilities and experts to discuss how economic regulation, performance benchmarking and Extended Producer Responsibility can support the EU Water Resilience Strategy and secure Europe’s water services against droughts, floods, pollution and climate risks.
The Forum opened with remarks by Vera Eiró, President of WAREG and of ERSAR (Portugal), and Pernille Weiss-Ehler, Water Resilience Expert and Cabinet Member in the Cabinet of Commissioner Jessika Roswall (Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy). “Resilience requires long-term investment planning, strong institutions and a transparent regulatory framework. EFRWS25 provides a space for regulators and policymakers to work together toward a secure, equitable and future-proof water sector,” said Vera Eiró, President of WAREG.
In her intervention, Pernille Weiss-Ehler underlined that independent regulators are key partners for the EU in turning water policy ambitions into concrete regulatory frameworks and investment decisions. Water resilience is now a core strand of the EU’s green and competitiveness agenda and stressed how regulators can be key partners for the Commission in turning policy objectives into investment, innovation and protection for households and businesses across Europe.
In the morning, a session on funding a resilient water future, moderated by Lorenzo Bardelli (ARERA, Italy), examined how the EU Water Resilience Strategy will translate into public and private investment. The discussion focused on tariff design, quality regulation and incentives for sustainability, nature-based solutions and circular practices, with contributions from the EIB, Water Europe, EurEau and Aqua Publica Europea.
A second discussion on performance benchmarking in water regulation, led by WAREG Vice-President Ivaylo Kastchiev, presented an interim update on WAREG’s 13 Common KPIs and showed how a common indicator framework can support risk-based oversight, transparency and regulatory convergence, with inputs from DG ENV, ERSAR (Portugal) and BRUGEL (Brussels).
A further session on embedding producer responsibility in wastewater investment, moderated by WAREG Vice-President Pál Ságvári, explored the integration of Extended Producer Responsibility schemes into the recast Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and how they can modernise investment frameworks. The panel featured contributions from WAREG Vice-Presidents Andrea Guerrini (ARERA, Italy) and Konstantinos Tsimaras (RAAEY, Greece), EurEau and REF Ricerche.
The morning concluded with final remarks by Vera Eiró and Veronica Manfredi, Director for Zero Pollution, Water Resilience & Green Urban Transition at DG Environment. In her intervention, Veronica Manfredi stressed the need for coordinated action between regulators, EU institutions and sector stakeholders to deliver on Europe’s water resilience objectives, underlining that coherent information, comparable data and robust Key Performance Indicators are essential to support effective regulation and policymaking.
In the afternoon, WAREG co-hosted two Horizon Europe synergy events:
A WATERUN policy brief on urban water runoff, presented by Maria Salvetti (FSR, EUI), which introduced new methodologies for water-sensitive urban design, diffuse pollution control and risk-based planning; and
The WaterGovernance2027 Synergy Group with the InnWater, GOVAQUA and RETOUCH NEXUS projects, moderated by James Leten (SIWI), which examined economic tools to support the EU Water Resilience Strategy, featuring contributions from the European Commission, civil society, landowner organisations and WAREG.
About WAREG
WAREG – European Water Regulators brings together national and regional authorities responsible for regulating drinking water and wastewater services across Europe. The association promotes cooperation, knowledge exchange and effective economic regulation to ensure high-quality, affordable and resilient water services.
More information: www.wareg.org