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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-10-2026-0281

on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group · Rapporteur: Jutta Paulus

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

Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

The resolution reaffirms support for the full implementation of the revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and defends extended producer responsibility (EPR) as a non-negotiable application of the polluter pays principle, rejecting any dilution or delay. It calls on the Commission to resist pressure, demands evidence-based assessments, and urges Member States to use flexibilities to address concerns about generic medicines without undermining EPR. It also calls on industries to assume responsibility and invest in less polluting substances, and warns that shifting costs to municipalities would increase water tariffs.

Key points

  1. Reaffirms unequivocal support for the full, timely and ambitious implementation of the revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive.
  2. Strongly defends EPR as a non-negotiable application of the polluter pays principle and rejects any attempt to dilute, delay or dismantle it.
  3. Firmly rejects alarmist and unsubstantiated narratives by parts of the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries regarding risks to medicine supply security.
  4. Calls on the Commission to resist political and industrial pressure and uphold the integrity of the directive in its entirety.
  5. Demands that any assessment of impacts on medicine availability be strictly evidence-based, transparent and performed by independent scientific bodies.
  6. Calls on Member States and the Commission to make full use of existing flexibilities to address concerns related to generic medicines without undermining EPR.
  7. Calls on Member States to coordinate staged implementation with contractual arrangements with generic companies, anticipate costs in budgets, and provide guidance or support.
  8. Stresses that access to medicines and protection of human health and environment are not mutually exclusive and must be pursued simultaneously.
  9. Calls on pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries to assume responsibility, cease obstructionist lobbying, and invest in developing substances that do not generate micropollutants and biodegrade rapidly.
  10. Warns that shifting costs to municipalities would lead to significant increases in water tariffs, disproportionately affecting low-income households, small businesses and farmers.
  11. Reiterates that undermining EPR would constitute a direct violation of the polluter pays principle as enshrined in the Treaties and a step backwards for EU policy.

Who is affected

  • Pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries: must assume responsibility, cease lobbying, and invest in less polluting substances.
  • Generic pharmaceutical companies: Member States should coordinate implementation to allow them to absorb costs while maintaining viable profit margins.
  • Municipalities and citizens: would bear costs if EPR is weakened, leading to higher water tariffs.

Figures and deadlines

  • At least 80 % of costs of removing micropollutants at quaternary treatment stage to be covered by sectors responsible for 92 % of pollutants.
  • Impact on medicine prices estimated at EUR 2.64 to EUR 3.20 per person per year by 2045.
  • Additional estimated cost for generics of EUR 0.53 to EUR 0.64 per person per year.
  • Staged deadlines: 20 % coverage by 2033, 60 % by 2039, full coverage by 2045.
  • Transposition deadline of 31 July 2027 and application of EPR obligations from 31 December 2028.

Legal basis: Article 191 TFEU, in particular the 'polluter pays' principle