8.2 International Water Law in the European Union
89
of the Rhine (Rhine Convention),
23 signed in 1999, replaced two earlier international
instruments
24 that, according to critics, proved to be a “regulatory failure” (Reichert
2016).
The Rhine Convention has been ratified by Germany, France, Luxembourg
and the Netherlands (EU member states), Switzerland (a non-Member State) and
the European Union. Its main objectives include the sustainable development
of the Rhine ecosystem, the production of drinking water from the waters of the
Rhine, the improvement of the sediment quality and general flood prevention and
protection (Art. 3.). The Convention is based on a number of water law and environmental law principles, such as the “no harm” rule, the precautionary principle or
the polluter-pays principle (Art. 4.). Given its broad ecological focus, the Convention hardly makes mention of any other aspects of water management than quality
improvement.
Implementation of the Convention is coordinated by the ICPR. The ICPR is
endowed with broad powers to prepare and propose programmes, measures, studies,
etc. with a view to improving or evaluating the effectiveness of implementation. In
particular, the ICPR is tasked to carry out studies and programmes on the Rhine
ecosystem, to make proposals for actions, to evaluate the effectiveness of the actions
carried out, to coordinate warnings and alerts, to inform the public of the state of the
Rhine and the results of its activities (Art. 8.). The impact of the ICPR is generally
evaluated as highly positive (the return of the salmon to the river is often cited as an
emblematic achievement) so it has served as a model for the development of other
basin commissions (Moellenkamp 2007).
8.2.3.3 The Elbe Convention
The river Elbe has a total length of 1091 km and a catchment area of 148,268 km
2
(almost the size of the Rhine). The Elbe basin is shared by four countries, the Czech
Republic, Poland, Austria and Germany, although 99% of the draining area belongs
to the Czech Republic and Germany only.
25
While formalised water cooperation in the basin dates back to the early 19th
century, during the Cold War the Elbe symbolised the separation between the two
German states as well as the entire European continent (Dombrowsky 2008). By the
end of the 1980s the Elbe has become one of the most polluted rivers in Europe,
causing considerable tension between West Germany and its upstream communist
neighbours (then Czechoslovakia and East Germany). Consequently, following the
fall of the Iron Curtain cooperation in the Elbe basin become a high political priority
not only for Germany, but also for the (then) European Communities. Thus a new
23 See footnote 9.
24 Agreement concerning the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine against Pollution, Bern, 29 April 1963; Convention for the protection of the Rhine against chemical pollution,
Bonn, 3 December 1976.
25 http://www.ikse-mkol.org/en/themen/die-elbe/ (accessed 12 February 2019).
89
of the Rhine (Rhine Convention),
23 signed in 1999, replaced two earlier international
instruments
24 that, according to critics, proved to be a “regulatory failure” (Reichert
2016).
The Rhine Convention has been ratified by Germany, France, Luxembourg
and the Netherlands (EU member states), Switzerland (a non-Member State) and
the European Union. Its main objectives include the sustainable development
of the Rhine ecosystem, the production of drinking water from the waters of the
Rhine, the improvement of the sediment quality and general flood prevention and
protection (Art. 3.). The Convention is based on a number of water law and environmental law principles, such as the “no harm” rule, the precautionary principle or
the polluter-pays principle (Art. 4.). Given its broad ecological focus, the Convention hardly makes mention of any other aspects of water management than quality
improvement.
Implementation of the Convention is coordinated by the ICPR. The ICPR is
endowed with broad powers to prepare and propose programmes, measures, studies,
etc. with a view to improving or evaluating the effectiveness of implementation. In
particular, the ICPR is tasked to carry out studies and programmes on the Rhine
ecosystem, to make proposals for actions, to evaluate the effectiveness of the actions
carried out, to coordinate warnings and alerts, to inform the public of the state of the
Rhine and the results of its activities (Art. 8.). The impact of the ICPR is generally
evaluated as highly positive (the return of the salmon to the river is often cited as an
emblematic achievement) so it has served as a model for the development of other
basin commissions (Moellenkamp 2007).
8.2.3.3 The Elbe Convention
The river Elbe has a total length of 1091 km and a catchment area of 148,268 km
2
(almost the size of the Rhine). The Elbe basin is shared by four countries, the Czech
Republic, Poland, Austria and Germany, although 99% of the draining area belongs
to the Czech Republic and Germany only.
25
While formalised water cooperation in the basin dates back to the early 19th
century, during the Cold War the Elbe symbolised the separation between the two
German states as well as the entire European continent (Dombrowsky 2008). By the
end of the 1980s the Elbe has become one of the most polluted rivers in Europe,
causing considerable tension between West Germany and its upstream communist
neighbours (then Czechoslovakia and East Germany). Consequently, following the
fall of the Iron Curtain cooperation in the Elbe basin become a high political priority
not only for Germany, but also for the (then) European Communities. Thus a new
23 See footnote 9.
24 Agreement concerning the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine against Pollution, Bern, 29 April 1963; Convention for the protection of the Rhine against chemical pollution,
Bonn, 3 December 1976.
25 http://www.ikse-mkol.org/en/themen/die-elbe/ (accessed 12 February 2019).