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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-10-2026-0279

on behalf of the ESN Group · Rapporteur: Anja Arndt

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

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This resolution addresses the implementation of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and risks to medicine supply security. It affirms Member State competences, calls for flexibility, and warns against uniform EU requirements. It emphasizes the polluter pays principle but demands that extended producer responsibility for medicines be evidence-based, proportionate, and exempt generic and critical medicines. It calls for transparent financing and impact assessments. It underlines investment in infrastructure and innovation, with Member States choosing technologies, and calls for decision-making close to citizens. It asks the Commission to assess economic impacts and act as a supporting body.

Key points

  1. Affirms that water policy and urban wastewater management must respect Member State competences, with EU action only if justified by subsidiarity and proportionality.
  2. Calls for maximum flexibility in implementing EU rules to account for national, regional, and local circumstances, and stresses the role of local authorities.
  3. Warns against uniform EU requirements that ignore regional diversity and infrastructure differences, as they could impair resource allocation and investment.
  4. Recognizes the polluter pays principle but insists that extended producer responsibility for medicines be evidence-based, proportionate, and cost-effective, considering actual pollution sources.
  5. Calls for generic and critical medicines to be explicitly exempted from any extended producer responsibility regulations.
  6. Emphasizes that wastewater treatment costs should be addressed through transparent, democratically accountable financing, with clear and proportionate manufacturer contributions.
  7. Calls on the Commission to revise its proposal so that extended producer responsibility schemes are based on scientific evidence, proportionality, and impact assessments, avoiding disproportionate burdens.
  8. Underlines the importance of investment in infrastructure and innovation, with Member States retaining the ability to choose technological solutions.
  9. Calls for decision-making to remain close to citizens, strengthening local and regional authorities per Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union.
  10. Calls on the Commission to systematically assess the full economic impact of proposed rules, including compliance costs, drug prices, supply security, and municipal budgets.
  11. Expects the Commission to act as a supporting and coordinating body within Treaty limits and respecting Member State competences.

Who is affected

  • Member states and local authorities: retain flexibility and decision-making power in wastewater management.
  • Medicine manufacturers: potential extended producer responsibility, but generic and critical medicines exempted.
  • Healthcare systems and consumers: protected from disproportionate burdens.
  • Municipalities and local water suppliers: face pressure from excessive regulatory burdens.

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