Trans-jurisdictional Water Governance in the European Union

This chapter focuses on transjurisdictional issues in European Union water law. The topic of transjurisdictional water governance in the EU has been the focus of detailed work across a range of issues, including transboundary water governance; human rights and water; water law and consumer law; water and spatial planning; water and agriculture; water and the use of medicines; water and pesticides; water and energy; fresh water and marine protection; and water law and climate change. This chapter combines insights from the author’s earlier research (see publications of the research group UCWOSL at www.ucwosl,rebo.uu.nl and the literature references below) and shows how external integration (integration in other policy fields ) in the EU is organised, with a focus on EU practices in the field of transboundary water management, fresh water supply, water and nature conservation and water and internal market legislation .
Three transjurisdictional issues in the EU’s water law are discussed. The first is the geographical and hydrological scope of water management, often related to transboundary river basins, which require specific cooperation mechanisms which are not available in EU water law. A second is the need for a common understanding of definitions, concepts and legal obligations in EU Member States, which is necessary for transboundary river basin management and a level playing field. This common understanding is needed because each EU Member State have an individual obligation to comply with EU law as well as a shared responsibility to reach the goals of European water law. The third topic discussed is the fragmented and sometimes conflicting legal frameworks in the field of water governance and adjacent policy fields. Water and nature conservation, fresh water supply and land use, and water and the authorization of medicines are used as examples. The analysis explores how best to deal with these transjurisdicitional issues, paying attention to internal integration (integration within the ambit of water law) within the broad scope of water management and ways to improve external integration (integration in other policy fields).