Campaign to nationalise water reaches European Parliament

Campaign group Right2Water, which opposes the privatisation of water, has succeeded in bringing proposed legislation before the European Parliament.

The legislation, which proposes legally binding guarantees that water services will not be privatised in the EU and that access to clean water is viewed as a human right, was debated in the European Parliament this week.

Right2Water was able to take its campaign to parliament through the first successful European citizens’ initiative (ECI), which gives citizens the chance to ask for new European legislation, provided organisers collect at least one million signatures in support of their plans.

Trade body Water UK said it was monitoring the situation closely.

Right2Water coordinator Pablo Sanchez told Utility Week that if the legislation were to be passed, “it would put all the pressure on the British government to discuss and review the 25 years of privatisation of water”.

“It will give European backing to the efforts that exist in the UK to take back water into public ownership,” he said

This, according to Sanchez, could have an impact on the profits of British water companies but would have a “positive impact on quality and pricing”.

“The benefits of privatisation have yet to be proven and we believe that remunicipalising and public ownership and control of water and sanitation utilities are more beneficial for consumers,” he added.

Trade union GMB has long called for the renationalisation of the water sector and welcomed the debate.

GMB’s Eamon O’Hearn said: “The sooner that the EU and national government approach water as a vital right the sooner we have a constructive debate on how we deliver that and keep costs down.”

However, a spokesperson for Water UK told Utility Week: “Private versus public shouldn’t be an issue. What customers ultimately get is the important thing.

“Everyone in this country has a right to water. No one can get disconnected and people have access to water and sanitation in this country already so we have to look at where we are as opposed to how we got to it in terms of public versus private.”

Maroš Šefčovič, the commission’s vice-president, will draft the official response to the initiative by 20 March. Any legislation will then have to be passed through the European Parliament and Commission before it becomes a part of a directive.