What changed

B100238/2026

B100282/2026

European Parliament resolution on the implementation of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) and risks to the security of supply of medicines

(2026/2652(RSP))

– having regard to Article 191 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

The European Parliament,

– having regard to Directive (EU) 2024/3019 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2024 concerning urban wastewater treatment (Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive),

–– having regard to Articles 3(3) TEU and Articles 9, 11, 168, 173, 191 and 192 TFEU,

– having regard to the Commission staff working document of 26 October 2022 entitled ‘impact assessment accompanying the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning urban wastewater treatment’ (SWD(2022)0541),

– having regard to Article 35 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

– having regard to the Joint Research Centre study entitled ‘Updated estimation of the costs of quaternary wastewater treatment in the EU’, published on 10 December 2025,

– having regard to Directive (EU) 2024/3019 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2024 concerning urban wastewater treatment,

– having regard to the polluter pays principle, as set out in Article 191(2) TFEU,

– having regard to Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (Water Framework Directive),

– having regard to theits Europeanresolution Greenof Deal7 andMay 2025 on the zeroEuropean pollutionWater actionResilience plan,Strategy,

– having regard to the questionits toresolution theof Commission17 onSeptember the2020 implementationentitled of‘on the Urban Wastewatershortage Treatmentof Directivemedicines and– riskshow to the security of supply of medicinesaddress (O-000013/2026an –emerging B100008/2026),problem’,

– having regard to the Commission study of 10 December 2025 entitled ‘Updated estimation of the costs of quaternary wastewater treatment in the EU’,

– having regard to the Strategic Report of the Critical Medicines Alliance,

– having regard to the ongoing work on the Critical Medicines Act,

– having regard to the question for oral answer O-000013/2026,

– having regard to Rules 142(5) and 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas water is essential for life and humanity; whereas the EU must manage current and future water resources efficiently and respond effectively to current water challenges, as they directly affect human health, the environment and its ecosystems, and strategic socio-economic activities;

A. whereas Directive (EU) 2024/3019 aims to reduce water pollution, including micropollutants, and to improve water quality throughout the EU;

B. whereas climate change is increasing water scarcity and variability, while demand for water continues to rise; whereas the untapped potential for wastewater reuse is estimated at around 320 billion m³ per year; whereas the EU’s ability to respond to growing pressures on water resources depends on significantly increasing the reuse of treated urban wastewater, thereby limiting freshwater abstraction from surface and groundwater bodies;

B. whereas the Directive introduces quaternary treatment requirements and an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for pharmaceuticals and cosmetics;

C. whereas urban wastewater is one of the main sources of water pollution, if not properly collected and treated; whereas the objectives of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) should not be lowered, and its scope should be proportionate to sectors and substances that contribute to water pollution;

C. whereas the introduction of quaternary treatment represents the most significant cost component of the Directive;

D. whereas the UWWTD sets the legal framework for collecting, treating and discharging urban wastewater, and for discharging biodegradable wastewater from certain industrial sectors;

D. whereas updated estimates from several Member States indicate substantially higher implementation costs than those anticipated in the Commission’s impact assessment;

E. whereas the extended producer responsibility system ensures that producers placing on the EU market products containing substances, which, at the end of their life, are found as micropollutants in urban wastewater, take responsibility for the quaternary treatment needed to remove micropollutants from urban wastewater, generated as part of their professional activities;

E. whereas local and regional authorities, municipalities and wastewater operators will bear major responsibilities for implementing the directive and face significant financing and investment challenges if no other contributions become available;

F. whereas the extended producer responsibility system is the most effective tool for implementing the polluter pays principle set out in Article 191(2) TFEU;

F. whereas concerns have been raised regarding the methodology used to attribute micropollutant loads and to allocate costs among economic sectors;

G. whereas the extended producer responsibility system is also the most appropriate means of achieving the removal of micropollutants resistant to secondary and tertiary treatment, or for which these stages of treatment show low efficiency of removal, via quaternary treatment, as it limits the financial impact on the taxpayer and water tariffs, while providing an incentive to develop biodegradable products;

G. whereas many pharmaceutical residues enter wastewater systems through normal use by patients and cannot be addressed through conventional product redesign measures;

H. whereas the security of supply of medicines in the EU must be safeguarded, and implementing the UWWTD should not inadvertently jeopardise the accessibility, availability and affordability of medicines; whereas, at the same time, substances, including antibiotics, that are ineffectively treated by other stages of treatment should be removed from urban waste water to reduce risks to the environment and human health, including risk of the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance;

H. whereas pharmaceutical manufacturers, particularly producers of generic medicines, operate under strict regulatory and pricing frameworks that limit their ability to absorb significant additional costs;

I. whereas the Member States, via national implementation programmes, should take into consideration and mitigate the possible impacts of applying the requirements of the extended producer responsibility system on the accessibility, availability and affordability of medicines, especially generics, placed on the EU market;

I. whereas generic medicines account for the majority of medicines dispensed within the EU and are essential for affordable healthcare systems;

J. whereas the UWWTD provides for a long implementation timeline, with the full application of certain provisions being extended until 2045, providing sufficient time for a gradual and balanced implementation of the directive and the quaternary treatment obligations, namely 20 % coverage by 2033, 60 % by 2039, and full coverage by 2045;

J. whereas medicine shortages continue to affect patients across the EU and have become a major public health concern;

1. Underlines the importance of the UWWTD in protecting public health and the environment, while stressing the need to avoid unintended consequences for the accessibility, availability and affordability of medicines;

K. whereas the EU remains dependent on non-EU countries for significant parts of the pharmaceutical supply chain;

2. Emphasises the urgency of addressing, primarily at the source, and effectively monitoring pollution from harmful substances in the environment in order to align with the EU’s zero pollution ambition and the goal of achieving good chemical status for all water bodies, as well as recognising the importance of adopting measures needed to inform consumers about waste prevention measures, take-back and collection systems, and the impact of inappropriate means of waste disposal of the respective substances, as well as their misuse- and over-use;

L. whereas both the pharmaceutical sector and the cosmetics sector provide high-quality employment, investment and innovation throughout the EU and form part of Europe’s strategic industrial base;

3. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the polluter pays principle is fully applied when implementing the UWWTD, particularly by requiring polluters to contribute to the costs of removing hazardous substances from wastewater, including through extended producer responsibility schemes;

M. whereas additional regulatory burdens may contribute to production relocations, reduced investment and job losses within the EU;

4. Recalls that the revised UWWTD imposes new obligations regarding urban wastewater quaternary treatment, requiring pharmaceutical and cosmetic producers to cover at least 80 % of the costs of removing micropollutants from wastewater, in order to reduce harmful substances in the environment; stresses that the remaining 20 % of the costs for removing micropollutants remain the responsibility of the Member States, which retain the discretion to either assume these costs themselves or allocate them to the relevant polluting sectors via an extended producer responsibility scheme;

N. whereas the EU is currently moving forward with the Critical Medicines Act with the objective of strengthening pharmaceutical resilience, strategic autonomy and security of supply;

5. Recalls that the extended producer responsibility system aims to finance the removal of micropollutants from wastewater and to encourage less toxic, more biodegradable products to be developed, which are exempt from extended producer responsibility, incentivising and rewarding innovation as regards less harmful substances in the concerned sectors;

O. whereas it is essential to ensure coherence between environmental legislation and the EU’s health, industrial and competitiveness objectives;

6. Notes that pharmaceuticals and cosmetic residues currently represent the main sources of micropollutants found in urban wastewater requiring quaternary treatment; recalls that the Commission, based on the results of regular urban wastewater monitoring and the most recent scientific data, should evaluate whether other sectors should be included in the extended producer responsibility system;

P. whereas access to safe, effective and affordable medicines remains a cornerstone of European public health systems;

7. Urges the Member States, in the context of their national implementation programmes under Article 23 and Recital 21 of the UWWTD, to adopt all necessary mitigating measures to guarantee the accessibility, availability and affordability of medicines across the EU;

1. Reaffirms its strong support for the environmental objectives of Directive (EU) 2024/3019 and for efforts to reduce water pollution and micropollutants across the EU;

8. Stresses that the financial responsibility for quaternary treatment should not fall on municipalities or water users, but be shared equitably among the main polluters in line with the polluter pays principle;

2. Stresses that environmental legislation should be implemented in a manner that safeguards public health, access to medicines, industrial competitiveness and social cohesion;

9. Calls for EU support to be provided to local authorities for modernising wastewater treatment plants and promoting water reuse in order to align with the EU’s zero pollution ambition, ensuring that municipal wastewater management contributes effectively to good chemical and ecological water status;

3. Underlines the importance of municipalities, wastewater operators, the pharmaceuticals sector and the cosmetics industry for the successful achievement of the directive’s objectives;

10. Insists on integrating circular economy principles to reduce hazardous chemical use in industrial processes; stresses the need for additional funding to support industries in transitioning to clean technologies that minimise water pollution;

4. Expresses concern that updated implementation cost estimates for quaternary treatment significantly exceed original projections;

11. Highlights the need for coordinated EU action to harmonise standards and best practices for removing pharmaceutical and cosmetic residues, while avoiding distortions in the internal market and ensuring fair competition;

5. Notes that municipalities and wastewater operators may face considerable financial and administrative burdens in implementing the directive;

12. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

6. Calls for a comprehensive assessment of the overall financing framework for implementation, including the impact on local authorities, public budgets and consumers;

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7. Questions whether the current methodology for pollution attribution and cost allocation sufficiently reflects all relevant sources of micropollutants;

8. Notes that existing assessments do not adequately address the potential effects on medicine availability, employment, investment and manufacturing capacity;

9. Expresses its strong support for the ‘polluters pay principle’ as laid down in Article 191(2) TFEU; supports the ambition of the directive in implementing this principle through the EPR scheme;

10. Expresses concern, nevertheless, that the current design of the EPR scheme may contribute to: – reduced availability of certain medicines; – reduced investment in pharmaceutical manufacturing; – production relocations outside the EU; – the loss of high-quality industrial employment;

11. Highlights the need to preserve and strengthen pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity, employment and supply chain resilience within the EU;

12. Stresses that the implementation of Directive (EU) 2024/3019 should be fully in line with the objectives of the Critical Medicines Act and the EU’s broader competitiveness agenda;

13. Calls on the Commission to commission a new, comprehensive, independent and methodologically robust study with peer review by early 2027 covering: – the actual costs of quaternary treatment; – the impact on municipalities and wastewater operators; – the impact on accessibility, availability and affordability of medicines; – the impact on employment, investment and industrial competitiveness; – the scientific basis for pollution attribution methodologies; – the effects on medicine availability, affordability and security of supply;

14. Calls on the Commission, on the basis of the findings of this study, to review the scientific methodology used for pollution attribution and the resulting allocation of costs under the EPR scheme, and to ensure that the implementation of the directive remains proportionate, evidence-based and consistent with the effective implementation of the polluters pay principle and the principles of fairness and legal certainty before the transposition is completed;

15. Calls for a temporary suspension of the EPR provisions (Articles 9 and 10) and related financial obligations until the completion of the study and the assessment of its findings by the Commission;

16. Requests that, should the results of the study demonstrate shortcomings in the current attribution methodology or cost allocation model, the Commission submit, without undue delay, the necessary legislative proposals to revise the EPR framework and ensure coherence with the objectives of public health, the Critical Medicines Act, industrial competitiveness and the security of supply of medicines;

17. Stresses the need for a level playing field between EU and non-EU manufacturers;

18. Supports the development of a more proportionate and substance-based approach to cost allocation where appropriate;

19. Calls for complementary financing mechanisms involving all relevant stakeholders to be explored, while ensuring a fair and sustainable framework for municipalities and wastewater operators;

20. Calls for the establishment of a permanent multi-stakeholder platform bringing together industry, municipalities, wastewater operators, regulators and public authorities;

21. Urges stronger coordination between environmental, health, industrial and competitiveness policies in future impact assessments and legislative initiatives;

22. Calls on the Commission to monitor the effects of implementation on medicine availability, industrial capacity and employment and to report regularly to Parliament and the Council;

23. Supports research into and innovation in environmentally sustainable pharmaceuticals and advanced wastewater treatment technologies;

24. Emphasises that future measures should remain science-based, technology-neutral, proportionate and patient-centred;

25. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the Member States.