12. EU Water Law and Its Relevance for the Euphrates and Tigris Region

Abstract

This chapter shows how European Union (EU) water law developed over the last four decades. It presents compilation and assessment of the most important EU water law directives, headed by the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) of 2000, as well as relevant EU 'soft law' documents. The chapter gives more detailed analysis of the WFD's river basin approach. Based on the 2002 Communication's framework of thinking, EU Water Initiative (EUWI) was launched at the 2002 Johannesburg Summit for Sustainable Development as response to declining investment in water and sanitation. EU member states have to ensure that a river basin covering the territory of more than one member state is assigned to an international river basin district. The riparian states of the Euphrates and Tigris have always faced water problems that typically arise in the upper-lower riparian relationship with its particular dynamics. Keywords: EU Water Initiative (EUWI); Euphrates; European Union (EU) water law; river basin; Tigris; Water Framework Directive (WFD)