8.1 A Distinct European ...
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– international water treaties ratified by the EU: the EU is an active player in
the international water policy arena. Any treaty to which the EU accedes becomes
automatically binding on EU institutions and member states, even if certain member states choose not to become a party on their own right. As mentioned above,
the EU is a party to a number of general and basin-specific water treaties;
– EU secondary law: the bulk of EU water law is adopted as so-called secondary
legislation, mostly in the form of directives. Any such legislation has to conform
to primary EU law as well as to international treaties approved by the EU;
– bilateral, regional, basin, etc. treaties concluded by EU member states: the
daily practice of cross-border water management takes place through bilateral
water treaties and, to a lesser extent, basin agreements. These treaties not only have
to comply with all three layers of EU law, but—under the “doctrine of harmonious
interpretation”—member states also have to interpret them in light of the letter
and spirit of the relevant EU norms (Kuijper 2013). It means that two (or more)
member states cannot make agreements to deviate from general EU law or the
specific water legislation of the bloc.
The above legal structure is mirrored by the unique institutional set-up of the EU
that has considerable implications for transboundary water governance inside the
bloc (see Sect. 8.3.5).
8.2 International Water Law in the European Union
8.2.1 Evolution of International Water Law in the European
Continent
The evolution of modern international water law predates the establishment of the
European Union and its predecessors. In fact, the EU as a supranational political body
has played a very limited role in the development of today’s international water law.
On other hand, some of its member states have been the unquestionable driving force
behind many of the achievements of contemporary transboundary water governance.
The development of today’s vast body of water treaties in Europe was neither linear, nor free of controversies. In fact, as Götz Reichert, a monographer of
EU water law, underlines early water treaties grew out of conflict-driven partial
approaches (Reichert 2016). Collaboration after World War II was not only impeded
by strong sovereignty concepts, but also by the stark political division of the European continent. The mid1980s, however, brought about major improvements. In 1985
eight Danube riparian states—overcoming the east-west political divide—signed the
Bucharest Declaration on the Cooperation of the Danube Countries on Problems of
the Danube Water Management. The Declaration acknowledged the pressing environmental problems in the Danube basin and committed the countries to integrated
water resources management (Moynihan 2015). A similarly important trigger was
81
– international water treaties ratified by the EU: the EU is an active player in
the international water policy arena. Any treaty to which the EU accedes becomes
automatically binding on EU institutions and member states, even if certain member states choose not to become a party on their own right. As mentioned above,
the EU is a party to a number of general and basin-specific water treaties;
– EU secondary law: the bulk of EU water law is adopted as so-called secondary
legislation, mostly in the form of directives. Any such legislation has to conform
to primary EU law as well as to international treaties approved by the EU;
– bilateral, regional, basin, etc. treaties concluded by EU member states: the
daily practice of cross-border water management takes place through bilateral
water treaties and, to a lesser extent, basin agreements. These treaties not only have
to comply with all three layers of EU law, but—under the “doctrine of harmonious
interpretation”—member states also have to interpret them in light of the letter
and spirit of the relevant EU norms (Kuijper 2013). It means that two (or more)
member states cannot make agreements to deviate from general EU law or the
specific water legislation of the bloc.
The above legal structure is mirrored by the unique institutional set-up of the EU
that has considerable implications for transboundary water governance inside the
bloc (see Sect. 8.3.5).
8.2 International Water Law in the European Union
8.2.1 Evolution of International Water Law in the European
Continent
The evolution of modern international water law predates the establishment of the
European Union and its predecessors. In fact, the EU as a supranational political body
has played a very limited role in the development of today’s international water law.
On other hand, some of its member states have been the unquestionable driving force
behind many of the achievements of contemporary transboundary water governance.
The development of today’s vast body of water treaties in Europe was neither linear, nor free of controversies. In fact, as Götz Reichert, a monographer of
EU water law, underlines early water treaties grew out of conflict-driven partial
approaches (Reichert 2016). Collaboration after World War II was not only impeded
by strong sovereignty concepts, but also by the stark political division of the European continent. The mid1980s, however, brought about major improvements. In 1985
eight Danube riparian states—overcoming the east-west political divide—signed the
Bucharest Declaration on the Cooperation of the Danube Countries on Problems of
the Danube Water Management. The Declaration acknowledged the pressing environmental problems in the Danube basin and committed the countries to integrated
water resources management (Moynihan 2015). A similarly important trigger was