"Today in Spain, 74% of the territory is at risk of desertification," said Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall at a press conference, in her first major appearance as head of that portfolio in Ursula von der Leyen's second EU executive.
The Swedish Christian Democrat politician stated that all countries face challenges and added that "the cost of doing nothing is too high and the situation would worsen," but she also pointed out that the situation is more disturbing in southern European countries.
"We all need to approach water in a more political way," Roswall said when specifically asked about Spain at the press conference, urging the country to invest more in nature-based solutions, improve transparency with France and Portugal, enhance coordination, and also strengthen cross-border cooperation.
The EU executive issued these recommendations based on an analysis of the implementation of the Water Framework Directive, the Floods Directive, and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, which show progress in water management but emphasize that significant efforts are still needed, especially in the quality of surface waters and flood risk management.
The analysis reveals that only 39.5% of the EU's surface waters achieve a good ecological status, and 26.8% a good chemical status, mainly due to pollution from mercury and other toxins.
Specifically, Spain is in a better situation, and Brussels expects that by 2027, 97.7% of its water bodies will be in good ecological status and 98% in good chemical status.
Regarding water scarcity, the Commission highlights that extraction and overexploitation are issues in Spain, which overall is just above the 20% exploitation threshold indicating scarcity (19.5%), but this value increases significantly in regions like Guadalquivir (48%), Guadiana (50%), Júcar (72%), and Segura (100%), surpassing the severe risk threshold of 40%.
According to the EU executive, in Spain, there is a lack of administrative control over groundwater sources due to historical rights and incomplete records, complicating effective management.