Commissioner Roswall's opening remarks, 2nd Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Ministerial Meeting on Water

2nd Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Ministerial Meeting on Water

Minister Tajani, Minister Abu Soud, Secretary General Hajali,

Good afternoon your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen.

It is an honour for me to be here representing the EU as Co-President of the Union for the Mediterranean at this 2^nd Ministerial meeting on Water.

The countries of the Mediterranean are close neighbours and key partners. We share the same sea – it has been a means for exchanging ideas, trading and building friendships between us for centuries. We also share common environmental and climate concerns, and we recognize that we are more effective when we address these together.

The challenges in the Mediterranean region are great and growing, so this meeting and our joint Declaration could not have come at a better time.

The Mediterranean region is warming around 20% faster than the global average. Across the region, we are already seeing the growing impact of droughts, floods, pollution and water scarcity. These pressures affect our citizens, our farmers, our ecosystems and our economies.

The last six months have seen unprecedented heat and lack of rainfall in the EU, with the fear that this will become the new normal. Across Europe, we see the devastating consequences this summer: threats to energy supply, trade, and growth.

Protecting our water systems is therefore not just an environmental priority – it is integral for our food production, our health, our energy security, and for our overall wellbeing.

We are confronted at the same time with too much, too little or water that is too polluted to meet are multiple needs.

But water does not stop at national frontiers. Decisions made in one country, one city, or one river basin ripples across economies and ecosystems, and can impact millions downstream.

Today's Ministerial Declaration can play an important part in improving sustainable water management in the region as a whole with its focus on:

• supporting investment,
• leveraging digitalization, and
• integrating the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems nexus in our decision-making.

The EU is committed to deepening cooperation with the region. The EU's Pact for the Mediterranean provides a strategic framework for this practical cooperation.

Water is at the heart of sustainable development, as a powerful connector across the SDGs.

At broader international level, the 2026 UN Water Conference in Abu Dhabi in December is a moment to showcase progress on increased access to water and sanitation, green infrastructure for enhanced resilience, more and better transboundary cooperation on water, and enforceable policy.

The UN Water Conference will be a critical milestone in maintaining political momentum on water and strengthening accountability for implementation. It should help translate commitments into measurable action, promote scalable solutions, and reinforce coherence between the water agenda and the wider 2030 Agenda.

Strengthening water governance is a prerequisite for achieving water security and resilience. The Conference should be inclusive of all stakeholders, and we hope that it will be a stepping stone towards a more structured engagement on water at the UN (intergovernmental process on water), including regular UN Water Conferences and stronger accountability, while reflecting the ongoing UN80 initiative.

For the European Union and its Member States, delivering on SDG 6 means advancing water resilience. This is reflected in the EU Water Resilience Strategy, which will be our flagship for the Conference.

The Strategy is built around three objectives:

• Restoring and protecting the water cycle from source to sea;
• Building a water-smart economy; and
• Ensuring access to clean and affordable water and sanitation for all.

These objectives are closely aligned with the ambition of the 2026 Conference and the Strategy's concrete actions provide a strong basis for concrete contributions within the Conference's six Interactive Dialogues.

Across the European Union and with our international partners, we are already translating these objectives into practice — through investment in infrastructure, water efficiency, urban planning, digital solutions, flood prevention, smart irrigation and transboundary cooperation.

We are advancing concrete measures such as guidance on drought management plans and our ambition to improve water efficiency by at least 10% by 2030. And just this month, President Von der Leyen announced a new water imitative that I look forward to taking the lead on.

We also recognise that financing remains a critical challenge. We need to mobilise more public and private capital for resilient water and sanitation services, ecosystem restoration, water-efficient technologies and climate adaptation. But financing must be matched by enabling policy frameworks, stronger institutions, workforce capacity, and better project pipelines. In this context, I would like to also acknowledge the Rome Initiative.

Transboundary water cooperation is another indispensable pillar of progress. More than 60 per cent of the world's freshwater flows through shared basins.

Effective cooperation across borders is therefore essential for resilience, peace, stability and sustainable development. Let's work together towards that goal here today.

I'm grateful to our Italian hosts and I look forward to fruitful discussions.

Thank you.