Brussels increases the tone against France. The European Commission once again pinned France for its incomplete transposition of the drinking water directive, by sending it official formal notice. Ireland and Slovenia are also targeted by this offense procedure, according to a decision revealed on Friday.
Regarding France, the shortcomings relating to risk assessment in private distribution facilities, water quality monitoring and information transmission to the public. The French authorities now have two months to respond and remedy the inadequacies. Otherwise, Brussels could issue a reasoned notice, a step prior to a possible referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
A first formal notice in 2020
This reminder to order is part of an already tense context: France had received a first formal notice in October 2020, then a motivated opinion in February 2023, this time for nitrates levels in drinking water above the authorized thresholds. Faced with efforts deemed “insufficient”, the commission then decided, in July 2024, to bring the case before the court.
Our file on drinking water
Questioned by AFP, the French Ministry of Ecological Transition ensures that “we are carrying out in -depth work on the roadmap for the protection of catchments, in order to permanently improve the quality of drinking water”. The European directive aims in particular to strengthen the protection of human health, taking into account new pollutants such as endocrine disruptors or microplastics, while ensuring expanded access to cleaner tap water.
