The European Commission has initiated new infringement actions against France, Germany and Portugal for shortcomings in the transposition and implementation of key EU water legislation, highlighting the importance of properly applying EU rules to safeguard water quality and strengthen resilience.
The cases, announced as part of the Commission’s March infringement package, relate to the Water Framework Directive and the Drinking Water Directive, two cornerstone pieces of EU environmental legislation aimed at protecting water resources and ensuring safe drinking water for citizens.
France: gaps in assessing modified rivers
The Commission has opened an infringement procedure against France for failing to fully transpose certain provisions of the Water Framework Directive. The Directive requires Member States to ensure that heavily modified water bodies, such as rivers modified by hydropower installations, achieve good ecological potential within established deadlines. To achieve this, countries must assess the ecological quality of these water bodies and determine the measures needed to improve their condition.
According to the Commission, French legislation does not include all the ecological quality elements required under EU law. In particular, it does not adequately take into account factors such as fish populations and river continuity, including measures allowing migratory fish to bypass barriers like dams. This could lead to incomplete assessments of the ecological condition of heavily modified rivers.
France has received a letter of formal notice and has two months to respond. If the response is not satisfactory, the Commission may issue a reasoned opinion.
Germany: issues with Drinking Water Directive transposition
The Commission has also sent a letter of formal notice to Germany for failing to correctly transpose the recast Drinking Water Directive, which Member States were required to implement by 12 January 2023.
The updated Directive aims to improve drinking water safety by strengthening quality standards and addressing emerging pollutants such as endocrine disruptors and microplastics. It also includes provisions to reduce water losses in distribution networks, where around 23% of drinking water is currently lost across the EU.
According to the Commission, Germany has not properly transposed certain provisions related to risk assessments and public access to information, including data on water monitoring and corrective measures taken by authorities. Germany has two months to respond to the concerns.
Portugal: reasoned opinion over review of water permits
In the case of Portugal, the Commission has taken the next step in the infringement procedure by issuing a reasoned opinion concerning the implementation of the Water Framework Directive.
EU legislation requires Member States to establish programmes of measures for each river basin district to ensure water bodies achieve good environmental status. These programmes must include controls on pressures such as water abstractions, impoundments and diffuse pollution, and authorities must periodically review these measures and related permits to ensure they remain effective.
The Commission considers that Portuguese legislation does not properly require authorities to periodically review control measures, particularly those linked to water abstraction and other activities that may affect water status.
A letter of formal notice was sent to Portugal in May 2025, and after assessing the country’s response, the Commission concluded that the issue remains unresolved. Portugal now has two months to take corrective action, otherwise the case may be referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
