The EP Water Group at the Opening Ceremony of new KWR building
On Friday September 18th, KWR Watercycle Research Institute held the opening ceremony of its new offices in Nieuwegein. The event was attended by many officials, such as the Minister of Infrastructure and Environment, Melanie Schultz van Haegen who formally opened the new residence of KWR. The Minister noted that the opening of KWR’s new complex is indicative of the important growth in the water sector and “physically represents a desire to be more efficient, sustainable and innovative. “
The EP Water Group chairwoman, Esther de Lange, was among the official speakers of the ceremony. The chairwoman highlighted that the Netherlands is not only a European champion in water management but also a global player in knowledge and expertise in the water sector.
She added that water still suffers too much from sectarianism on a policy level. ‘’For many years, water was seen merely as environmental issue (with eg. The Water Framework Directive) that had to be discussed within the Environment Committee. However, water is about everything: raw materials scarcity, geopolitics, energy production, urban planning, the Digital Agenda, etc.’’ Esther de Lange underlined that circular economy is an opportunity but there is the risk everyone applies circular economy on their own terms, with no one leading the way.
The chairwoman also made a reference to the EP Water Group and its activities. The EP Water Group met with the European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation who assigned the water sector to come up with concrete suggestions for innovation. Lastly, Esther de Lange stated that as the world population is growing, Europe needs to be smart .
As a long-standing member of WssTP, KWR is known for its outstanding research in the water sector and its invaluable contributions to society. KWR’s new and flexible complex contributes to the research institute’s ambitions by meeting the latest sustainability and environmental-integration standards. A building dedicated to collaboration, knowledge sharing and innovation.
To learn more about KWR activities, please visit KWR’s website.
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EU Water Sector meets with the cabinet of EU Commissioner Bulc for Transport
This week, a delegation of the key European water-related organisations met with the cabinet of Commissioner Bulc for Transport to discuss the importance of transport policy for sustainable water management.
Sustainable transport is essential for Europe’s economic recovery. Waterborne transport is considered to be an energy efficient, safe, and sustainable mode of transport. Waterways accommodate multiple functions, such as water supply, flood mitigation, biodiversity, and navigation. A systemic approach is needed to accommodate all these ecosystem services on and around waterways, taking into account climate aspects. The opportunity to move to a more systemic approach to waterways emerges due to the upcoming efforts to replace ageing waterway infrastructures.
As a leading player in waterborne transport policy in the European Union, DG Transport has a key role to play in achieving a systemic approach to waterways management in coordination with other relevant policy DGs, such as DG Environment, DG Regional Policy, DG Agriculture, DG Climate Action, and DG Research & Innovation. Sharing best practices on systemic approaches to inland waterways management will be a first step.
With 90% of the global economic activity dependent on water, protection of this key resource is highly relevant to Juncker’s top priority to boost jobs growth, and investment. Water is also a transversal issue that can highly benefit from President Juncker’s ambition to overcome silo mentalities and promote ‘cooperation across portfolios to produce integrated, well-grounded and well-explained initiatives’.
The ‘Key priorities for water under the Juncker Commission’, released in September 2014, provided the basis of the discussion between the Water Alliance delegates and the cabinet of Commissioner Bulc.
For further information, please contact Durk Krol.
Read MoreACQUEAU Open Call: Next cut-off on 15 October 2015
The ACQUEAU Open Call dates are:
Project Outline deadline: 15 October 2015
Full Project Proposal deadline: 27 November 2015
Label assessment: mid-December 2015
Open Call process
ACQUEAU Open Call is a two-stage submission and evaluation process. It delivers the EUREKA ∑! label and thus facilitates access to national funding in ACQUEAU participating countries. The Call is open to any project idea in the context of the water cycle and the Blue Book. Check here the eligibility criteria.
Partner search for ACQUEAU call
ACQUEAU supports water stakeholders in building up their project consortium. Currently, some organizations are looking for an international partner in order to apply to Acqueau Open Call. You can find the list of companies looking for project partners here.
For more information on how to apply, please visit ACQUEAU’s website.
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