Speech by Commissioner Šuica at the European Water Regulators Authorities (WAREG) General Assembly

European Commission -Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech by Commissioner Šuica at the European Water Regulators Authorities (WAREG) General Assembly Athens, 18 June 2025 Dear members of the Association of European Water Regulatory Authorities, Thank you for inviting me to address your General Assembly today. Water management is of utmost importance for the resilience of our population, our economies, and the entire ecosystem. Water is the most important resource there is on the planet. Currently, 800 million people world-wide suffer from water scarcity. This is why supporting the maintenance and renewal of national water supply networks, and the upgrading of waste-water treatment systems has been at the heart of our Cohesion Policy and the Recovery and Resilience Facility funds. In the current European Union financial period, 14 billion Euro are allocated to water management from the cohesion policy, and 16 billion Euro from the RRF. In the planning and implementation phase, the water regulators play an indispensable role. In the upcoming New Pact for the Mediterranean, there are going to be a number of areas of win-win cooperation - including on managing water challenges - through bilateral partnerships and regional investment initiatives. We can expect the roll-out of a number of water management projects – with direct European Union support, the help of the European Investment Bank, but also through investments by the...