EFG Welcomes Adoption of EU Water Resilience Strategy

Jul 10, 2025

The European Federation of Geologists (EFG) welcomes the European Commission’s adoption of the EU Water Resilience Strategy on 4 June 2025. As a contributor to the Strategy’s public consultation, EFG sees this milestone as a vital step toward safeguarding Europe’s water resources in the face of intensifying climate and societal challenges.

With global water demand projected to outpace supply by 40% by 2030, the Strategy offers a timely and ambitious roadmap, prioritising governance, investment, innovation, and scientific research. EFG particularly supports the focus on strengthening professional skills and scientific expertise, recognising the essential role of geologists, especially hydrogeologists, in sustainable water management.

Through its Panel of Experts on Hydrogeology and ongoing EU-funded projects like GENESIS, EFG is committed to supporting the Strategy’s implementation.

You can consult the full EFG Statement on the EU Water Resilience Strategy at the following file and here below:

 

EFG welcomes adoption of EU Water Resilience Strategy

Statement by the European Federation of Geologists (EFG)

 

The European Federation of Geologists (EFG), which contributed to the public consultation on the EU Water Resilience Strategy, welcomes the Strategy’s adoption on 4 June 2025 as a critical step in safeguarding Europe’s water resources amid growing climate and societal pressures.

The Strategy (see the links below) rightly prioritises governance reform, investment, digital innovation, scientific research, and disaster preparedness to secure the availability and quality of water for all uses and users.

As the demand for water is projected to exceed supply by 40% globally by 2030, the EU’s new Strategy provides a timely and ambitious response to the interconnected challenges facing the environment, economy, health, energy and food systems.

Following EFG’s contribution to the call for evidence earlier this year, the Federation commends the European Commission for placing water at the core of Europe’s resilience agenda.

Geologists, and in particular hydrogeologists, play a vital role in ensuring that water resources, and especially groundwater, are sustainably managed, protected, and understood. Through its Panel of Experts on Hydrogeology, EFG is committed to supporting the Strategy’s implementation by providing scientific expertise, policy advice, and professional standards for water resilience.

In the public consultation process, EFG recommended the following actions:

  • Strengthen geological expertise for water resilience: update Directive 2005/36/EC to enhance the mobility of geologists, ensuring critical expertise can be deployed where needed to address water-related challenges; recognising the EurGeol title as an official European Professional Card would streamline cross-border professional recognition, accelerating the application of geological skills in sustainable water management.
  • Ensure the highest ethical and professional standards: establish robust ethical, environmental, and professional benchmarks for geologists involved in water resilience projects; certifications like EurGeol should serve as a standard under EU directives to guarantee qualified professionals are leading efforts in groundwater management, flood prevention, and climate adaptation.
  • Invest in professional training for water sustainability: expand geology education and continuous professional development (CPD) to equip geologists with cutting-edge expertise in hydrogeology, water resource management, and climate resilience, public funding and industry-academic partnerships should support skills development to ensure Europe remains competitive in securing and managing its water resources.

EFG particularly welcomes the flagship measures outlined under the Strategy’s pillar on “Research and innovation, water industry and skills to strengthen competitiveness”.

The Strategy rightly acknowledges that while the EU has built a strong research and innovation (R&I) portfolio through its Framework Programmes, the transition from project-level outputs to large-scale deployment remains limited. EFG supports the Commission’s commitment to establish a robust science-policy interface to better capitalise on knowledge generated by EU and nationally funded research initiatives, thereby accelerating the practical uptake of water-smart technologies and solutions. EFG is contributing to research and innovation in the field of water through EU-funded projects such as GENESIS, which is developing “Geologically Enhanced NaturE-based Solutions for climate change resiliency of critical water Infrastructure.”

The announced launch of a Water-Smart Industrial Alliance represents a timely initiative to foster technological innovation, industrial competitiveness, and address critical skills shortages across the European water sector. The Federation welcomes the Commission’s intention to create a European Water Academy, a much-needed platform to address the growing capacity gap in water management. EFG also notes the relevance of complementary actions such as the Large-Scale Skills Partnership, the Platform of Vocational Excellence Water, and the Network of European Blue Schools, all of which contribute to building a resilient, STEM-empowered talent pipeline in line with the Union of Skills Package. EFG contributes to upskilling geoscience professionals through its Academy which offers Continuing Professional Development opportunities for European Geologist title holders and other geology experts.

Recognising persistent knowledge gaps in areas such as water availability, aquatic ecosystems, climate adaptation, and the water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus, EFG supports the Commission’s plan to adopt a dedicated Water Resilience R&I Strategy by 2026. This strategy will be instrumental in reducing fragmentation across existing initiatives and aligning investments to high-impact areas.

EFG stands ready to collaborate with the EU institutions, Member States and other stakeholders to realise the vision of a resilient, inclusive and competitive European water future.

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