Released on = April 16, 2007, 8:59 pm

Press Release Author = Bharat Book Bureau

Industry = Marketing

Press Release Summary = This report analyses the EU water industry for water supply
and waste water treatment. It is structured around a country-by-country description
for each member state, as well as a discussion of key issues for the whole of the
EU.

Press Release Body =
The European Water Industry - Market Assessment

This report analyses the EU water industry for water supply and waste water
treatment. It is structured around a country-by-country description for each member
state, as well as a discussion of key issues for the whole of the EU. Statistics are
given for freshwater abstraction, main water uses, sewage treatment and the quality
of bathing water. For each country, the report provides a discussion of market
structure with particular reference to the way the water industry is organised and
the degree to which the main players are public or private companies.

Developments in the EU water industry are driven by the EU Water Framework Directive
(WFD) and associated legislation. This legislation is being transposed into the
national legislation of each member state according to a staged approach with a
final deadline of 2015, by which time a \'good status\' situation should have been
reached for EU waters. This legislation was drawn up before the recent expansion of
the EU. The addition of ten new member states in Eastern and Northern Europe in May
2004 have added to the challenge of implementing EU legislation to the new total of
25 countries.

From the report\'s discussion of water abstraction statistics, some key points are
clear. Most of the EU\'s freshwater supply is from surface water (composed with
ground water). Some countries rely heavily on surface water entering their borders
from neighbouring countries, which can raise concerns about the continuity and
quality of water entering these countries. With 20% of all surface water in the EU
seriously threatened with pollution, urgent attention towards the water industry is
still required. One of the features of water resources in the EU is their uneven
distribution in relation to demand. In Scandinavia, which has a low population and
low agricultural requirements, there are vast water resources. In contrast, the
Mediterranean region, with its hot summer periods and large agricultural industries,
has less access to water.

Historically, water services have been owned and operated by public bodies mostly at
municipal level. Taken as a whole, there are thousands of public bodies operating in
the EU water market. Some of these operate as companies and some work together in
consortia. The report comments on the debate about the role of private companies in
the EU water industry. In many countries, public-private partnerships play an
important role - whereas, in a small number of countries, the private sector plays a
major or at least significant role. Private companies are expanding their business
in the EU, especially in some of the new member states, but progress is slow and
non-uniform in the context of the whole EU.

Flood protection and prevention is now receiving attention due to serious flooding
of major rivers causing hundreds of deaths, displacement of hundreds of thousands of
people and extensive environmental damage. Funding of the EU\'s water industry is a
major issue and a variety of financial sources have been tapped, including special
sources for pre-accession states. Among the consequences of investment in the water
industry have been increases in the domestic price of water, which have raised
objections -especially in countries where water had been cheap.

Regarding the future, water conservation will be an important theme. In the southern
part of the EU, a desalination plant is being installed to assist with water supply
in local areas. It is most unlikely that there will ever be a unified EU water
market (as with electricity and gas), due to the major obstacle of interlinking
discrete aspects of natural water resources. Competition will be manifest through
the competitive merits of the various combinations of public and private companies
demonstrating that they can operate over a long period to give a satisfactory
service at an acceptable cost.

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