4th European Forum on the Regulation of Water Services (EFRWS25), 4 December 2025
Pernille Weiss-Ehler, Water Resilience Expert and Cabinet Member in the Cabinet of Commissioner Jessika Roswall, opened the 4th European Forum on the Regulation of Water Services (EFRWS25), organised by WAREG – European Water Regulators in Brussels. The Forum brought together regulators, EU institutions, financial actors and stakeholders from the water sector to discuss how regulation can support Europe’s water resilience.
Weiss-Ehler highlighted that the Water Resilience Strategy aims for the EU to become at least “10% more water efficient by 2030,” describing this as an aspirational target at EU level. She stressed that a central part of the work ahead is to define how this target will actually be delivered and measured through a dedicated methodology: “Now and until the mid-term review of the Strategy in 2027 we will deliver the methodology on how to become water efficient.”
For this, she insisted on the importance of data and regulator experience. “No one knows it better than you, the data on water and how the water circulates in its specific ecosystems,” she said, emphasising that the methodology must be built by discussing data, as well as existing experiences and cases that can be used as a basis for further work.
Weiss-Ehler recalled the three core objectives of the Strategy, stressing that they frame very well where Europe stands in the current historical context.
Restoring and protecting the water cycle
The first objective is to restore and protect the water cycle. She reminded participants that this is the reason why, 25–30 years ago, the EU began to develop legislation on water, and that Europe now benefits from a robust legislative toolbox. At the same time, she underlined that more can be done, for example through new technologies, better targeted research and by learning from frontrunners. This objective, she stressed, is central to the rationale and ambition of the Water Resilience Strategy.
Securing clean and affordable water and sanitation for all at all times
The second objective is to secure clean and affordable water and sanitation for all at all times. Weiss-Ehler emphasised the need for a change in mindset: water can no longer be considered an infinite resource. If current and future generations are to enjoy sustainable living standards, society must recognise water scarcity and the fact that water is not always available with the right quality at the right time, unless it is managed better. She linked this to the broader geopolitical context of climate change, wars and challenges to democracy and public institutions, and stressed that focusing on water policy and governance is essential to ensure affordable and safe water and sanitation for all.
Building a water-smart economy
The third objective is to build a water-smart economy. Weiss-Ehler presented this almost more as a tool than a goal, arguing that restoring and protecting the water cycle, and ensuring clean and affordable water for all, cannot be achieved without an economy that integrates water considerations across finance, incentives and regulatory structures. This is the space where Europe must construct a strong, meaningful and resilient economic framework for its water systems.
She warmly welcomed the Forum’s focus on tariffs, incentives, performance indicators and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), noting that this agenda goes to the core of how finance and economic signals can be aligned with water resilience.
A core part of her message was the need to place water at the centre of the EU’s wider circular economy agenda. She noted that the Cabinet of Commissioner Roswall will put forward a Circular Economy Act and observed that discussions on circularity often overlook water. Debates tend to focus on the products and materials that water cleans or carries through economic cycles, while neglecting the fact that water is present in every resource and waste stream that must be organised in a more circular, environmentally sound and industry-friendly way. She therefore urged regulators to work more and in greater depth on how water can be recognised as an essential component of the Circular Economy Act going forward.
Weiss-Ehler also focused on benchmarking and its possible role in delivering water efficiency. Referring to the 10% target, she raised questions about how best to define and measure water efficiency, including whether classic targets at Union or national level are the most appropriate instruments, or whether approaches based on benchmarking and sectoral differentiation might better capture reality on the ground. In this context, she emphasised that regulators’ experience with benchmarking is crucial, and encouraged WAREG and its members to bring forward their methodologies and tools as potential building blocks for the future EU approach to water efficiency.
She welcomed the Forum’s focus on Extended Producer Responsibility and the role of regulators in designing and implementing EPR schemes related to water. She underlined that these discussions are closely followed in the political ecosystem surrounding the Water Resilience Strategy and are highly relevant for the way polluter-pays mechanisms are translated into practice.
Weiss-Ehler then turned to the ongoing structured dialogues between the Commission and all Member States. She explained that these dialogues have already started in several countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, and that the objective is to ensure that, by the end of 2026, every Member State will have engaged in such a process with the Commission. These dialogues are intended to address not only the implementation of the water acquis, with a strong focus on water quality, but also how each Member State is dealing with the issue of water quantity, which is closely linked to water efficiency. Meeting all Member States in this format should give the Commission a clearer picture of which approaches and methodologies are promising and could inspire others across Europe, not only among regulators but across the whole water management and water governance ecosystem.
Looking ahead, Weiss-Ehler described the first EU Water Forum, to be held the following Monday, as a major milestone in implementing the Strategy. With more than 450 participants and further interest beyond that, the Forum is designed not merely as a traditional high-level conference where most interaction occurs informally, but as an event structured around explorative, focused sessions.
She outlined six breakout sessions:
- On water efficiency;
- On finance;
- On water resilience and competitiveness;
- On urban water resilience;
- On the Water Academy; and
- On digital transformation.
She underlined the relevance of these six strands, while recognising that the Forum cannot answer every question. Weiss-Ehler stressed that the Water Forum is not a standalone initiative. It will be held again in 2027, and a Water Resilience Stakeholder Platform will be established in the near future to provide a structured space for work between editions of the Forum. This platform will complement other processes and support continuous work on the many actions included in the Strategy.
In closing, Weiss-Ehler paid tribute to regulators and the wider water community. She described WAREG members and their peers as some of the historical reference points in the European water landscape, part of a growing community of “water warriors.” . Addressing regulators, their members, staff and collaborators, she underlined that they have a significant role to play in supporting the implementation of the Water Resilience Strategy and in helping to translate its more than 30 actions into practice. She noted that water is now taken more seriously in EU policy debates than in the past, and that this is the result of combined efforts of the regulators and of the many stakeholders across the water sector in Europe.