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Ordinary legislative procedure First reading

Urban wastewater treatment (recast)

A proposed EU law. Parliament and the Council must agree on the same text: Parliament adopts its position, then negotiates with the Council.

Where it stands: Completed: published in the Official Journal on 12 December 2024 and now EU law.

  1. ✓ Referred to committee 19 January 2023
  2. ✓ Committee work Report adopted 20 September 2023
  3. ✓ Tabled for plenary 26 September 2023
  4. ✓ Negotiations with the Council Deal approved in committee 11 March 2024
  5. ✓ Plenary vote Adopted 10 April 2024
  6. ✓ Published as law 12 December 2024
How a file moves through Parliament

A file is referred to one lead committee (others may give an opinion). Its rapporteur writes a draft report, committee members table amendments, and the committee votes to adopt the report. The report is then tabled for all MEPs; political groups can table further amendments, which are voted on before the final vote in plenary. For a law, Parliament’s adopted text is its first-reading position; Parliament and the Council then negotiate a common text (trilogues) which both must approve before it is published as law.

Who is working on it

Lead committee
ENVI — Environment, Climate and Food Safety
Rapporteur
MEP #114268 Renew
Shadow rapporteurs
MEP #192635 IDMEP #124988 PPEPietro FIOCCHI ECRMEP #197571 The LeftMEP #197495 S&DMEP #28161 Verts/ALE
For opinion
ITRE — Industry, Research and Energy JURI — Legal Affairs · rapporteur Magdalena ADAMOWICZ PPEAGRI — Agriculture and Rural Development · rapporteur MEP #58789 Renew

The rapporteur drafts and negotiates the text for the lead committee; each other political group names a shadow rapporteur to follow the file.

The text, version by version

Adopted by Parliament · latest Adopted text TA9-0222/2024 10 April 2024 ✦ Parliament adopted its first-reading position on a recast directive on urban wastewater treatment, based on a provisional agreement with the Council. The position corresponds to the final act, Directive (EU) 2024/3019.⇄ what changed Adopted by Parliament Adopted text TA9-0355/2023 5 October 2023 ✦ Parliament's amended version of the proposed urban wastewater treatment directive sets rules on collecting, treating and discharging urban wastewater, and on access to sanitation, transparency and public health surveillance.⇄ what changed Tabled for plenary Report A9-0276/2023 26 September 2023 ✦ Parliament's amended version of the Commission proposal for a recast directive on urban wastewater treatment sets rules on collection, treatment and discharge, access to sanitation, transparency and public health surveillance.⇄ what changed Committee draft Draft report (ENVI) 27 March 2023 ✦ This is the rapporteur's draft report on the Commission proposal for a directive on urban wastewater treatment (recast). It adopts a first-reading position with amendments that lower the threshold for covered agglomerations to 500 population equivalent, tighten nutrient removal targets, and share extended producer responsibility with national financing programmes.

Newest version first. Open a version to read it in full. “What changed” shows the differences paragraph by paragraph; ✦ lines are AI-written from the texts themselves.

Timeline

  1. Outcome
  2. 12 December 2024 Published in the Official Journal

    The act is now EU law.

  3. 27 November 2024 Signed by the Presidents of Parliament and the Council

    The last step before the act is published in the Official Journal.

  4. Plenary stage
  5. 10 April 2024 Plenary vote
    Sitting of 10 April 2024 📄 Adopted text TA9-0222/2024📄 Report A9-0276/2023
    Adopted Adopted by an overwhelming majority
    For 481 Against 79 Abstained 26

    Final vote on the provisional agreement at 19:23 · 82% of votes cast in favour · every MEP’s position →

  6. Negotiations with the Council
  7. 11 March 2024 Committee approved the deal reached with the Council

    The provisional agreement from the trilogues goes to the whole Parliament for a vote.

  8. 5 October 2023 Parliament opened negotiations with the Council

    After its vote Parliament sent the file back to committee, so that its negotiators can seek a compromise text with the Council (in “trilogues”).

  9. Plenary stage
  10. 5 October 2023 Plenary vote
    Sitting of 5 October 2023 📄 Adopted text TA9-0355/2023📄 Council / Commission text C9-0363/2022📄 Report A9-0276/2023
  11. 5 October 2023 Debated in plenary

    MEPs debated the text in the chamber ahead of the vote.

    Sitting of 5 October 2023 📄 Council / Commission text C9-0363/2022📄 Report A9-0276/2023
  12. 26 September 2023 Report tabled for plenary

    This is the text all MEPs vote on. Political groups can still table amendments to it.

    📄 Report A9-0276/2023
  13. Committee stage
  14. 20 September 2023 Committee vote: report adopted

    ENVI (Environment, Climate and Food Safety) voted on the amendments and adopted the report that goes to plenary.

  15. 7 September 2023 Committee opinion adopted

    The opinion is attached to the report for the lead committee to consider.

    📄 JURI-AL-752960
  16. 23 May 2023 Committee opinion adopted

    The opinion is attached to the report for the lead committee to consider.

    📄 AGRI-AL-746722
  17. 27 March 2023 Draft report published

    The rapporteur’s first text in ENVI (Environment, Climate and Food Safety). Members can table amendments before the committee votes.

    📄 Draft report (ENVI)
  18. 19 January 2023 Referred to the ENVI (Environment, Climate and Food Safety) committee

    The lead committee prepares the report; ITRE (Industry, Research and Energy), JURI (Legal Affairs), AGRI (Agriculture and Rural Development) give an opinion.