EU Blue Deal

Considering the vital nature of water and the magnitude of the challenges ahead, the EESC calls on the EU to adopt a comprehensive and strategic approach to water with its call for an EU Blue Deal. This new approach should integrate water considerations in the design of key EU policies and their implementation, based on a long-term strategic vision and supported by dedicated funding to ensure a water-secure future for all.

In October 2023, the EESC presented its Call for an EU Blue Deal, a comprehensive set of recommendations for a sustainable water policy for Europe as a strategic priority. The work is based on a set of opinions covering the social, economic, environmental and geopolitical aspects of water as well as water challenges concerning agriculture, industries, infrastructures and sustainable consumption.

The EESC President’s Declaration for an EU Blue Deal contains 15 principles that should guide future EU initiatives and a set of 21 concrete actions that the EESC proposes to be implemented as a matter of urgency.

Further opinions published in 2024 and 2025 provide recommendations concerning water-intensive industries and water-efficient technologies, the interconnectedness between water and the twin transitions (notably concerning AI, digitalisation and energy), as well as on blue diplomacy, water-induced migration and how to empower youth, women, and indigenous and local communities in the context of sustainable water policies.

The EU Blue Deal initiative has received support from many members of the European Parliament, the European Committee of the Regions, other international organisations such as the United Nations, and a large array of stakeholders representing the wider civil society, who share the EESC's conviction that a more strategic approach to water is needed at EU level. The European Commission has also publicly recognised the EESC's leading role in pushing for strong water policies at EU level, and the influence the call has had on the publication of the Water Resilience Strategy.

While welcoming the Water Resilience Strategy, the EESC urges the EU to address water as a fundamental element of other top policy initiatives, such as the Clean Industrial Deal, the Vision for Agriculture and Food, the Preparedness Union and the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) post-2027 to address the water crisis in all its dimensions, with a comprehensive approach.

The EESC will continue to engage with the EU institutions and key stakeholders to push for the Blue Deal and water resilience as a strategic priority for the EU, and to monitor the implementation of the Water Resilience Strategy. In December 2025, the EESC will co-organise the first Water Resilience Forum together with the European Commission and the European Committee of the Regions.

The Committee is also in an active dialogue with the Member States and with the wider civil society organising follow-activities and events, with the participation of EESC members and delegates.

In 2026, the EESC will contribute to the UN Water Conference as part of the EU Delegation, bringing the views of EU organised civil society to the discussions on water at global level.