The European Anglers Alliance (EAA) and the European Fishing Tackle Trade Association (EFTTA) are joining forces with several NGOs to raise awareness about the importance of the Water Framework Directive in view of its upcoming review. An event that will take place on the 22nd of March in Brussels will be the occasion to discuss the current state of the implementation of the Directive and the importance to preserve its ambitious objectives and deadlines.
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) was adopted 17 years ago with the aim of protecting European waters and ensuring that they achieve “good status” by a set deadline. However, in 2012 the European Commission acknowledged that Member States were far from reaching these objectives as 47% of EU waters did not achieve good ecological status . Nevertheless, the WFD represents a crucial piece of EU environmental legislation and it has greatly contributed to the improvement of water protection in the EU . The review process will start in 2019.
In view of this process, the European Anglers Alliance and the European Fishing Tackle Trade Association have decided to enhance cooperation with several NGOs such as the WWF, the European Environmental Bureau, Wetlands International and the European Rivers Network to raise awareness about how the Directive works and its correct implementation.
In this context, the Recreational Fisheries and Aquatic Environment Forum is organising an event entitled “The Water Framework Directive – Lifeline for European Waters” that will take place in the European Parliament on the 22nd of March 2017.
The main aim of the event is to bring together people from various institutions and organisations to inform about and discuss the Water Framework Directive, its current state of implementation and the challenges ahead.