News 2025

FIEC joined the "EU Water Resilience Coalition" meeting attended on 2nd September by the EU Commissioner for Energy & Housing, Dan Jørgensen, in Brussels, at the European Commission, Berlaymont.

Discussions focused on:

- Relevance of "Water Resilience for Energy and Housing" and appropriate funding (MFF priorities).

- Cooling power plants account for 32% of water withdrawals in Europe.

We highlighted that electricity generation is a major contributor to rising water demand, while supply is increasingly limited.
Across the EU, 23% loss of treated water in the distribution network. This overproduction of purified water leads to an overconsumption of energy for operating treatment facilities and pumping stations, including related GHG emissions.

An estimated EUR 23 billion investment gap (0.1% of EU GDP) to meet existing legal requirements. The current combined annual investment in water infrastructure across the EU is around EUR 55 billion.
FIEC stressed that the actions outlined in the "EU Water Resilience Strategy" will require the active involvement of the construction ector. Achieving the goal of a resilient and sustainable future can only happen in collaboration with contractors. They are the ones who know the grids and how to maintain & repair water infrastructure, as well as building new parts, when needed.