8.3 The Water Law and Policy of the European Union
101
8.3.4 Transboundary Cooperation Under EU Water Law
and Policy
As mentioned above, the WFD follows a basin approach. Consequently, the directive
foresees close cooperation among member states sharing international river basins
as such cooperation is a quintessential element of the European model of water
governance (Recital 14). The basin approach is, however, manifested mainly through
certain procedural and planning requirements and mechanisms member states must
follow, rather than hard and fast substantive rules.
First of all, member states are required to coordinate their efforts aimed at meeting
the environmental objectives of the directive for the entire river basin or river basin
district (Recital 35). This implies that where a river basin is covered by the territory
of more than one member state, it must be assigned to a so-called international
river basin. When no agreement is reached on the designation of such international
basin by the riparians concerned, any such member state may request the European
Commission to facilitate the process. Shared river basins must be subjected to the
same administrative and institutional regimes as purely national basins (Art. 3.3.).
Second, member states must coordinate the management of their sections of the
international river basin from the start of the planning phase all the way through the
implementation process, in particular in the preparation and execution of river basin
management plans and programmes of measures (Art. 3.4.). As a priority, the member
states concerned are called upon to produce a single management plan for the entire
river basin. This is, however, not an obligation of result. Should the coordinative
efforts of member states fail to produce a comprehensive international river basin
management plan, riparian governments are merely required to adopt uncoordinated
national plans and measures for their respective parts of the international basin (Art.
13.2.). To settle the differences that may emerge in this process among member states
the Commission may, again, be invited to facilitate (Art. 3.4.).
Third, where an international river basin districts falls partly outside the territory
of the EU, the member states concerned are called upon to establish “appropriate”
coordination with the non-EU riparian countries with a view to achieving the environmental objectives of the WFD for the entire basin (Art. 3.5.). This implies the
rather soft requirement of “endeavouring” to produce a single river basin management plan in cooperation with the relevant non-EU riparians (Art. 13.3.).
Member states can fulfil the above coordination requirements through existing
international mechanisms, basin organisations, bilateral water committees, etc. (Art.
3.4.). As shown above, most European basin commissions have indeed been mandated by their members to ensure the coordination of the implementation of the WFD
in their respective basins. In some cases, like the Meuse, a new basin commission
has even been set up with the specific objective to create a framework for WFD
implementation. The expansion of the WFD’s programme beyond the territory of
the EU also proved successful as all non-EU riparian states in the Rhine, Danube
and Sava agreed to implement the WFD in their respective shares of the basin (see
Sect. 8.2.3).
101
8.3.4 Transboundary Cooperation Under EU Water Law
and Policy
As mentioned above, the WFD follows a basin approach. Consequently, the directive
foresees close cooperation among member states sharing international river basins
as such cooperation is a quintessential element of the European model of water
governance (Recital 14). The basin approach is, however, manifested mainly through
certain procedural and planning requirements and mechanisms member states must
follow, rather than hard and fast substantive rules.
First of all, member states are required to coordinate their efforts aimed at meeting
the environmental objectives of the directive for the entire river basin or river basin
district (Recital 35). This implies that where a river basin is covered by the territory
of more than one member state, it must be assigned to a so-called international
river basin. When no agreement is reached on the designation of such international
basin by the riparians concerned, any such member state may request the European
Commission to facilitate the process. Shared river basins must be subjected to the
same administrative and institutional regimes as purely national basins (Art. 3.3.).
Second, member states must coordinate the management of their sections of the
international river basin from the start of the planning phase all the way through the
implementation process, in particular in the preparation and execution of river basin
management plans and programmes of measures (Art. 3.4.). As a priority, the member
states concerned are called upon to produce a single management plan for the entire
river basin. This is, however, not an obligation of result. Should the coordinative
efforts of member states fail to produce a comprehensive international river basin
management plan, riparian governments are merely required to adopt uncoordinated
national plans and measures for their respective parts of the international basin (Art.
13.2.). To settle the differences that may emerge in this process among member states
the Commission may, again, be invited to facilitate (Art. 3.4.).
Third, where an international river basin districts falls partly outside the territory
of the EU, the member states concerned are called upon to establish “appropriate”
coordination with the non-EU riparian countries with a view to achieving the environmental objectives of the WFD for the entire basin (Art. 3.5.). This implies the
rather soft requirement of “endeavouring” to produce a single river basin management plan in cooperation with the relevant non-EU riparians (Art. 13.3.).
Member states can fulfil the above coordination requirements through existing
international mechanisms, basin organisations, bilateral water committees, etc. (Art.
3.4.). As shown above, most European basin commissions have indeed been mandated by their members to ensure the coordination of the implementation of the WFD
in their respective basins. In some cases, like the Meuse, a new basin commission
has even been set up with the specific objective to create a framework for WFD
implementation. The expansion of the WFD’s programme beyond the territory of
the EU also proved successful as all non-EU riparian states in the Rhine, Danube
and Sava agreed to implement the WFD in their respective shares of the basin (see
Sect. 8.2.3).