On May 13, Aqua Publica Europea (APE) and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) co-organised the webinar on “EU Funding Opportunities for the European Water Resilience Strategy”, bringing together more than 100 participants from across Europe.

 

At a time when awareness of water-related challenges is increasing and the European Commission has put forward an ambitious strategy to strengthen Europe’s water resilience, the webinar explored how EU funding instruments and technical support can help address the significant investment gap facing the water sector.

 

The discussion benefited contributions from high-level speakers, including Claudia Olazabal, Head of Unit for Sustainable Freshwater Management at the European Commission, and James Hunt, Senior Water Engineer at the European Investment Bank (EIB), alongside representatives from CEMR and APE.

 

The debate highlighted the central role that local authorities and water operators play—and will continue to play—in strengthening water resilience across Europe. While current EU funding programmes, and potentially the next Multiannual Financial Framework, can provide important support to bridge the investment gap, successfully seizing these opportunities will also require strong political prioritisation at national level, as well as the capacity of local authorities and water operators to develop robust, well-designed long-term investment plans.