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MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION (2026/2652(RSP))

On the implementation of the urban wastewater treatment directive (UWWTD) and risks to the security of supply of medicines

B-10-2026-0243

on behalf of the ESN Group · Rapporteur: Anja Arndt, Christine Anderson

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✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 4 Sept 2026

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The resolution addresses the implementation of the urban wastewater treatment directive and its impact on medicine supply. It reaffirms Member States' competences in healthcare and water policy, rejects extended producer responsibility for medicines, and calls for flexibility and proportionality in EU rules.

Key points

  1. Reaffirms that EU water policy must respect Member States' competences, especially in healthcare, and be limited by subsidiarity and proportionality.
  2. Emphasizes that EU rules must allow maximum flexibility in implementation, considering national and local circumstances.
  3. Stresses that environmental objectives must ensure affordable water services and avoid excessive costs for households; warns against cost-shifting mechanisms.
  4. Warns against uniform EU-wide requirements that ignore regional diversity and infrastructure differences, reducing efficiency.
  5. Emphasizes that local and regional authorities are best placed to assess infrastructure needs and technological solutions.
  6. Rejects extended producer responsibility for medicinal products, as it may act as levies on essential healthcare products and increase costs.
  7. Calls for generic medicines to be exempted from such rules to ensure competition and security of supply.
  8. Emphasizes that the pharmaceutical industry should not face extended producer responsibility without a direct causal link to pollution.
  9. Warns that extended producer responsibility schemes may shift costs to consumers, bypass national scrutiny, and affect low-income households.
  10. Emphasizes that wastewater treatment costs should be addressed through transparent public financing at Member State level.
  11. Calls on the Commission to revise its proposal to remove extended producer responsibility for medicines and ensure any remaining provisions are limited and proportionate.
  12. Opposes further centralisation of water policy, calls for decision-making close to citizens, and for the Commission to assess economic impacts and act as a supporting body.

Who is affected

  • Pharmaceutical industry: would be exempt from extended producer responsibility for medicines, avoiding potential costs.
  • Patients and consumers: protected from increased medicine prices and water service costs.
  • Member States and local authorities: retain control over healthcare and wastewater management decisions.

Legal basis: Articles 168 and 191 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union