Water-smart by 2030: the EU's plan to boost water efficiency by 10%

Europe is losing 38 percent of its soil to droughts. The EU's Water Resilience Strategy wants to restore water ecosystems, cut waste, and digitalise water management to increase water resilience across the bloc. Watch the video. Record temperatures are sweeping across Spain and into Finland. This summer, droughts have spread across Europe, prompting urgent water rationing measures and temporary bans on non-essential water uses. The World Weather Attribution links current droughts to months of below-average rainfall and record heat between April and June. In 2026 alone, soil moisture deficits are 5 to 11 times more likely. France's maize harvest is at a 50-year low, and Romania is losing over a million hectares. Reduced water levels in rivers and lakes are affecting tourism and transportation, including on the Danube, which is at its lowest since 1996. Extreme dryness is also fuelling wildfires. The EU reports that, so far, 500,852 hectares have been burned across the bloc, up from 381,444 hectares in the same period in 2025. The EU struggles to combat current droughts because decades of overuse, pollution, and poor water management have depleted water resources. Its Water Resilience Strategy (2025) secures Europe’s long-term water supply. It aims to make the EU water-resilient to climate change by improving its water efficiency by at least 10 percent by 2030. The roadmap includes over 50 actions, 30 of which are crucial. To date, 3 actions are complete. The roadmap is based on three pillars: restoring and protecting water quality and quantity by reducing pollution and over-extraction; building a water-smart economy through digitalisation to monitor and manage use and cut waste; and ensuring access to clean, affordable water while encouraging water-saving habits and water-efficient products.