Conflicts over water between European Union countries. A dramatic document was leaked

Water shortages on the continent threaten to cause conflicts between European Union countries, which are unprepared for global warming. The European Commission will issue such a warning next week. This grim message is part of a communiqué in which the European Commission claims that EU countries have not yet achieved “everything necessary to prepare for and counteract climate change.” This is reported by the website which described the content of the document.

According to “Politico”, this is an “uncompromising” warning from the European Commission, which will result in “the last major EU climate initiative” before the June elections to the European Parliament. In the document, the EC defines water shortages as a problem that threatens almost every aspect of life: the food we eat, the water we drink and power and transport infrastructure, not to mention basic economic issues and human health.

A war for water in the European Union? “Some regions are already arguing”

“These threats may manifest themselves in many forms. Some will include increased competition for water resources across a variety of sectors […]. There is a potential risk of conflicts internally and between member states in connection with cross-border water resources,” we read in the document. “Politico” emphasizes that some regions of EU countries are “already arguing” over water. “In Spain, drought-stricken Catalonia is trying to convince the Spanish central government to divert river waters from neighboring Aragon, fueling political tensions in the process. Last year, there were violent clashes in France over plans for water reservoirs,” the portal reminds. The European Commission’s communication will be accompanied by the first ever European climate risk assessment, a comprehensive report by the European Environment Agency. It is to be published on Monday.

More extreme phenomena and “36 threats”

The intensification of extreme weather phenomena, such as droughts on the one hand and floods on the other, is, according to the European Environment Agency, just one of the climate threats facing Europe. The Agency’s assessment “identified 36 key threats to Europe”. Several of them have already reached catastrophic levels, the EC document states, but does not provide further details. Brussels presents dire forecasts. They show that Europe will face more disasters of various types, such as “droughts, floods, fires, diseases, crop failures, deaths due to heat, destruction of infrastructure and structural changes in the environment.” “Both the EU and its member states need to prepare much better for climate threats and effectively counteract them,” we read. The European Commission states in the document that since 1980, droughts and floods have cost the EU approximately EUR 9 billion and EUR 170 billion annually, respectively.

The EC set itself “homework” in connection with the conclusions drawn from the document. “The Commission will strengthen workers’ protection against threats such as heatwaves, set ‘minimum climate resilience requirements’ for all EU spending and publish a study on preparing the agricultural sector for climate change at the end of 2025,” we read. As Politico reports based on the Green Deal, Brussels also plans to “issue more guidelines on increasing the resilience of rural areas to climate threats.”