EU campaign to end water privatisation could succeed, says commissioner

A campaign to end the privatisation of water in the EU could succeed, according to a senior EU commissioner.

Maros Šefčovi, vice president of the European Commission, said there had a ‘positive response’ to legislation put forward by campaign group Right2Water.

He tweeted: “Positive response and plenty to look forward to in EC position on @right2water adopted next week.”

The comments came in response to a report from European Voice which claimed the European Commission would throw out the proposed legislation. Šefčovi said this was “incorrect”.

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 brought before the European Parliament in February.

Right2Water was the first campaigner to reach Brussels via the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), which gives citizens the chance to ask for European legislation, if they can collect one million signatures in support of their plans. Right2Water amassed 1,659,543.

According European Voice, a senior official involved in drafting the Commission’s response said it would be “politically tricky” for the current administration to propose legislation that would then have to be negotiated by the next Commission, expected to take office on 1 November.

Pablo Sanchez, a campaign spokesman, said these were just “excuses”.

Last month, Sanchez told Utility Week  the legislation “would put pressure on the British government to discuss and review the 25 years of privatisation of water”.

The draft response is currently being discussed inside the Commission and Šefčovi 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.