What brought you to Brussels?
I was born by the sea, and throughout my life the sea has been something very important to me, it is part of my identity.
Did you study Political Science to defend the rights of the sea?
Yes, and of rivers and lakes and, therefore, of humans. It seems to me essential that in 2023 politicians take water quality seriously, we must fight for a good state of European oceans, rivers and lakes.
What is the current state of the oceans, rivers and lakes in Europe?
The 2023 report on the quality of European bathing water has just been published, which has been carried out with the measurements of the year 2022.
And who publishes that report?
It is an annual exercise of the European Environment Agency and the European Commission, something very commendable and advanced.
And what does that report say?
According to the report, 85.7% of bathing areas in Europe are in excellent condition and 95.9% of them meet the minimum standards.
Excellent news, even if it is minimal...
Official analyses, as they are currently carried out, do not offer a true image of the state of our bathing and leisure areas.
Oh.
On the one hand, algae blooms and plastic debris are only included in beach profiles or only visually inspected. On the other hand, chemical contamination is not taken into account at all.
Not so good news, then.
The analyzes of the quality of the bathing waters and the classification of the zones contemplate only two criteria of bacteriological control.
There must be thousands of bacteria.
They analyze those that the European authorities consider to have a more direct impact on human health: Escherichia coli and intestinal enterococci.
Any other notable bug?
The report only mentions the samples taken during the summer season, and only in bathing areas identified as such.
And isn't that enough?
Our NGO, Surfrider Foundation Europe, points out that there are many water sports and labor activities that take place in the water throughout the year, often in places other than bathing areas. The people who carry them out also deserve to be informed about the quality of the water in their workplaces or when doing sports.
And what do you propose?
Among the main recommendations we ask that new parameters to be monitored be added, such as residues, harmful and toxic algae blooms and chemical contaminants, elements that are not yet included in the considerations of the directive.
We must analyze further.
Yes, because it is difficult to talk about excellent bathing water quality when there is widespread concern and doubts about the impact of this pollution on health.
TRUE.
There are serious emerging risks such as resistance to antibiotics, which ends up in our waters, microplastics or pharmaceutical substances and other contaminants.
I thought that was already under control.
Just a few days ago, The Lancet's Commission on Pollution and Health announced that pollution was responsible for 9 million deaths a year worldwide, a figure that has held steady since 2015.
Incredible.
The Lancet magazine has also reported that toxic chemical contamination has been a growing but largely forgotten threat in recent years. This is a worrying figure.
In Europe we have one of the most ambitious environmental policies.
With the Green Deal and the Zero Pollution action plan, the European Commission had opted for an ambitious policy, it is true. That is why it is frustrating to see that some of these commitments are not going to be fulfilled on time and that they are increasingly delayed.
Is the environment no longer a priority?
We urgently need to work towards a strong new directive that protects the health of the ocean and the health of Europeans.
Thank you for watching over us.
We are at a decisive legislative moment. It is expected that at the beginning of 2023 a proposal for the revision of the EU directive on the management of the quality of bathing waters 2006/7/EC, delayed on several occasions, will be presented. More means must be provided to the states.
