Water is under stress when we use 20 percent of renewable freshwater resources, and severely stressed at 40 per cent, according to the European Environmental Agency (EEA)’s Water Exploitation Index Plus (WEI+). Today, 30 percent of Europeans and 20 percent of land face water scarcity each year, according to the European Commission.
Current temperatures deepen Europe's water crisis as heat dries soils and shrinks rivers. Behind the heat lies a water system already pushed to its limits. Decades of pollution, overuse, and resource mismanagement have harmed water bodies, leaving the EU with few reserves to fight today’s water crisis.
The EU launched the Water Resilience Strategy in June 2025 to make the EU water-resilient. It protects the water cycle, promotes a water-smart economy, and ensures access to clean, affordable water.
“Water is no longer just an environmental investment. It is an investment in people’s wellbeing, Europe’s food security, public health, economic competitiveness and resilience. And if Europe underinvests in water today, it will not be institutions that feel the consequences first, it will be ordinary people”, said Thomas Bajada, MEP of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and rapporteur of the Water Resilience Strategy in the European Parliament.
