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Recommendation on promoting transnational governance on water in the interests of conflict prevention and peace

TA-10-2026-0221 · P10_TA(2026)0221 · PE779.681

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Parliament recommends that the Council, the Commission and the High Representative increase the role of transboundary water governance in EU external action to prevent conflicts, address water stress as a security risk, and support cooperation on shared water resources worldwide. It calls for funding, expertise, and monitoring to support partner countries, civil society, and river basin organisations, and for expanding projects to new regions and strengthening multilateral cooperation, including the UN Water Convention and the EU Water Resilience Strategy. It urges action on data sharing, early warning, legal accountability, and the protection of water infrastructure, condemning the use of water as a weapon and supporting justice for victims.

Key points

  1. Recognise water stress as a major security, geopolitical and humanitarian risk factor and integrate water-related conflict prevention into EU foreign, security and development policy.
  2. Support governments in establishing operational agreements and river basin organisations, respecting sovereignty, and raise water governance in bilateral dialogues.
  3. Provide EEAS and EU Delegations with resources for transboundary water management and blue diplomacy.
  4. Ensure adequate funding under the next multiannual financial framework, align with the Water Resilience Strategy, and ensure EU-financed projects do not undermine transborder water relations.
  5. Support environmental rights defenders and civil society, and expand geographic scope to the Americas, Middle East, North Africa, and Asia.
  6. Integrate water and waste-water management into partnerships, support capacity building, and tailor investments to local contexts.
  7. Strengthen multilateral cooperation, globalise the UN Water Convention, implement SDG 6, and prepare for the 2026 UN Water Conference.
  8. Ensure water management responds primarily to environmental interests and public good.
  9. Implement the EU Water Resilience Strategy, including supporting access for at least 70 million people and engaging in G7, G20, and Baku Dialogue.
  10. Improve transparency and coherence of EU funding, promote data sharing and common standards, and strengthen monitoring and early warning capacities.
  11. Promote integrated water resource management, the water-energy-food-ecosystem nexus, and research on sustainable management, including weather modification.
  12. Strengthen international law, condemn the use of water as a weapon, and support legal initiatives for justice and compensation.

Who is affected

  • Partner countries sharing transboundary water basins, including in Africa, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and North Africa.
  • Environmental rights defenders and civil society organisations working on water governance.
  • EU institutions and bodies, including the EEAS, EU Delegations, and the EU Special Representative for Human Rights.
  • Populations in conflict-affected areas, including Ukraine, Gaza, and regions affected by dam projects.

Figures and deadlines

  • 2,2 billion people lack safely managed drinking water; 3,5 billion lack safely managed sanitation; 4 billion experience severe water scarcity.
  • 60 % of the world’s freshwater flows are transboundary.
  • Only 43 of 153 UN Member States sharing transboundary waters have operational agreements.
  • 90 % of all natural disasters are water-related.
  • 1.7 million children in Ukraine lack reliable access to safe water.
  • 89 % of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure damaged or destroyed; 90 % of household water insecure.
  • At least 70 million people to gain access to water and sanitation through the EU Water Resilience Strategy.