The European Fishing Tackle Trade Association (EFTTA), a long-standing partner of the EAA, has joined forces with 22 companies and stand with the 375,000 European citizens who have urged the European Commission and the Member States to preserve the Water Framework Directive in its current form.
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is one of the most important pillars of the EU’s environmental legislation and aims to achieve good status of Europe’s freshwater bodies by 2027 at the latest.
In their declaration, the group points out that “Freshwater is a unique resource that is not only key to Europe’s stability, prosperity, and peace, but is also essential for businesses to operate and nature to thrive. The coronavirus pandemic has put a strain on many of our societies and activities, reinforcing, amongst other things, our utter dependence on our natural world, including water. As a hygienic element, an indispensable part of economic activity, and a primary element of our landscapes and ecosystems, water is a vital natural resource we need to protect and secure access for everyone.”1
The EAA, along with a group of prominent NGOs, launched and supported the #ProtectWater campaign to demand to the European Commission to keep the EU’s water law strong in order to protect European rivers, lakes, wetlands and streams as well as the life in them. The campaign was supported by more than 370,000 citizens who expressed their clear opposition to changing the legislation.
The EAA and the EFTTA provide the secretariat of the Forum on Recreational Fisheries and Aquatic Environment in the European Parliament. In the last few years, the Forum organised several events focused on the importance of keeping the WFD strong. In 2017, the Forum hosted the launch of the Living Rivers Water Coalition while in 2019 organised an event aimed at raising awareness about the fact that the WFD is a good piece of legislation that should not be weakened but that the Member States should make more efforts to implement it properly.
The EAA is pleased that the EFTTA has reiterated once again its support for this groundbreaking legislation along with other prominent business partners. Their declaration is available here.
Reference:
Water is life, living and livelihoods, EFTTA: https://www.eftta.co.uk/about-eftta/water-is-everyone-s-business/