Over 150 organizations (trade unions, water-users’, environmental, humanitarian and altermondialist associations, NGOs from thirty different countries and international networks), in addition to hundreds of people, have already signed the declaration of the participants issued at the conclusion of the Alternative World Water Forum. Please share its ideas, make the declaration widely known, sign it and get others to sign it, so that the current in favour of water as a commons can become overpoweringly strong!
Campaign started in 6 cities in Germany
Ver.di, the German public service trade union has officially started the campaign ‘Wasser ist ein Menschenrecht’ in Leipzig. Over 130 trade unionists and members of supporting organisation joined the fountain event on 21 June and collected signatures. In Germany the campaign is carried out by a coalition of groups that in the past already campaigned for public control over water and good, safe and affordable water services for all. In five other cities people promoted the campaign and collected signatures: Berlin, Hamburg, Dortmund, Augsburg and Munich. The German groups have set a national target of 150.000 signatures, this way providing for 15% of the total number of signatures needed in Europe!
Agreement reached to sell Veolia’s regulated water business in the UK
First significant step of the €5 billion asset divestment program before end 2013
Net debt reduction of € 1.450bn
Paris, 28 June 2012. Today, Veolia Environnement’s wholly owned subsidiary, Veolia Water UK PLC, has agreed to sell the UK regulated water activities of Veolia Environnement to Rift Acquisitions Limited(a) for a total transaction value of £1,236 million(b).
Following completion of this transaction, Veolia Environnement’s net debt will be reduced by around £1,165million(c) (€1,450(d)million) as a consequence of the sale. Veolia Environnement will retain, in addition to its non regulated water business, an interest in the UK regulated water business through Veolia Water UK’s retained 10% equity interest in the divested business for a period of at least 5 years.
Water Justice Activists Demand Action 2nd Anniversary UN Human Right to Water Resolution
July 28, 2012 marks the two-year anniversary of the historic United Nations General Assembly resolution recognizing the Human Right to Water and Sanitation.
As members of the global water justice movement we are deeply concerned to see little progress being made towards the full implementation of this right as governments aggressively pursue false solutions to the environmental and economic crises that will only deepen the water injustices that our organizations and communities have been fighting for decades.
Arrest of Marco Arana
Marco Arana, the leader of the movement against CONGA (a giant mining project which is threatening to drain the lakes supplying groundwater in the region of Cajamarca) was arrested on 4th July.
The “CONGA no Va” movement was presented in a “Right to Water” workshop session at FAME (Françoise Chambeu) and in a “Water and Extractivism” workshop (Raquel Neyra).
EWM Final Declaration - Girona Annual Meeting 2025
Girona, 8 December 2025
The EWM Annual Meeting 2025 came at a particularly critical moment, marked by deregulation processes promoted by the European Commission, growing pressure on water resources, and increasing frequency of prolonged droughts and floods. This context coincides with a key preparatory year for the third UN World Water Conference (December 2026), where Member States will need to define their positions and commitments.
This scenario is further complicated by the rise of far-right political forces across Europe, which drives deregulation and threatens fundamental rights such as universal access to water, recognized by the UN General Assembly and enshrined in the Drinking Water Directive.
In this context, the Girona meeting offered a platform for analyzing the impacts of European policies on water management and for developing strategies to defend water as a common and a fundamental human right. The event featured international, European, and national experts, providing critical and rigorous insights into current water-related challenges.
During the Girona meeting, held from 5 to 7 December, the European Water Movement (EWM), raised serious concerns regarding the negative consequences of the revision of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) announced by the European Commission on 10 December 2025, arguing it’s an obstacle for projects’ permitting such as mining projects. One of the main objectives of the meeting was to analyse the proposed deregulation of EU water-related legislation, both in terms of legislative amendment and financing mechanisms.
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