Water management is becoming a major policy challenge throughout the EU as intensive domestic, industrial and agricultural water use – along with climate change – are making water supplies scarcer and more unpredictable. Water shortages and floods can be economically devastating, and long-term imbalances in water supply can seriously hamper Europe ’s economic growth. But are the policy solutions now being applied proving successful? Is the EU’s Water Framework Directive enough to cope with the problems of today and tomorrow, or should it be seen as just the forerunner for a more ambitious strategy? Given the importance of water security in sectors as diverse as power generation, health and food production, how can stakeholders in governments, business and civil society be reached out to and included in the water policy debate?

Welcome address: Giles Merritt , Secretary General of the  Friends of Europe
Keynote address on behalf of  Stavros Dimas , EU Commissioner for the Environment
Introductory remarks: Tom Vereijken, Chairman of the European Water Partnership (EWP)  

Ingeborg Brommée , Head of Unit Environment, Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations in the EU and General Confederation of Agricultural Co-operatives in the EU (COPA-COGECA)
Fritz Holzwarth, President of the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine (ICPR) and Deputy General Director for Water at the German Ministry of Environment
Grant Lawrence, Director for Water, Chemicals and Cohesion, Directorate General for the Environment, European Commission  
Riccardo Petrella, International Committee Coordinator, World Water Contract
Richard Seeber MEP, Rapporteur, Directive on the Assessment and Management of Floods and Member of the European Parliament Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
Pier Vellinga, Professor of Environmental Sciences and Global Change, Wageningen University, The Netherlands
Moderator: Friedrich Barth , Vice-Chairman, European Water Partnership (EWP)

Estimates say that over 40m people in Europe do not have easy access to clean drinking water, and 85m do not have basic sanitation services. Water procurement, treatment and distribution need sophisticated infrastructures, and that in turn means substantial investment programmes that must start very soon. What resources are available to finance these long-term investments? Are public sector budgets the main option, or will the money come from higher water bills for end-users? How can public-private partnership help leverage the private sector activities and assets most effectively? And with primary water supplies around the world needing to increase 22% by 2025, what funding models will be most appropriate for developing countries?  

Jens Berggren, Manager of the Water Integrity Network (WIN), Transparency International, Germany  
David Boys, Member of the UN Secretary General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation and International Utilities Project Coordinator, Public Services International (PSI)
Jürg Gerber , Chief Operating Officer, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and Senior Adviser for Global Projects, Alcan Inc
Mark Lane , Head of the Water Sector Group, Pinsent Masons, UK
Brigita  Schmögnerová, Vice President, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
Moderator: Giles Merritt , Secretary General, Friends of Europe

European water solutions and policy thinking are making a growing impact worldwide. The EU and its member states are not only by far the world’s largest aid donors, but also do much to promote more efficient water governance. How should the EU further spread its own water-related experience and best practice among its neighbours and partners? Is water policy being adequately integrated into the EU’s policies for addressing energy, climate change and other global environmental challenges?


Bertrand Charrier, Vice President, Green Cross International
Gheorghe Constantin , Director for Water Resources Management, Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, Romania
Androulla Kaminara, Director for Operations Quality Support, EuropeAid Co-operation Office, European Commission
Sharon Nunes, Vice President, Strategic Growth Initiatives, Big Green Innovations, IBM, USA  
Raymond van Ermen, Executive Director, European Partners for Environment (EPE)
Moderator: Johan Kuylenstierna , Project Director, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)