News 2025

Last week, the European Construction Industry Federation (FIEC) co-signed a Joint Letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in support of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme under the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD).

Together with EurEau (the European Federation of National Associations of Water Services), FIEC emphasises that the EPR scheme is essential for achieving high water quality standards and reducing environmental pollution. The mechanism brings much-needed private investments into the water sector and plays a key role in enabling the construction of quaternary treatment facilities for wastewater.

The signatories urge the European Commission to maintain the current legislative framework, which entered into force on 1 January 2025 and must be transposed into national law by the end of July 2027. Any weakening of the EPR scheme would jeopardise critical investments in water infrastructure, including nature-based solutions.

FIEC and EurEau therefore call on the European Commission to safeguard the agreed EPR provisions in the UWWTD and avoid revisions that could delay or undermine its timely, fair, and effective implementation.

Read Joint Letter via this link.