Vice-President and Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič of the European Commission has announced that the Commission is to respond to the European Citizens' Right2Water Initiative with a “substantial list of commitments” for the coming months and years.

Describing the Initiative as the “first-ever exercise in pan-European, citizen-driven democracy”, Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič said water quality, infrastructure, sanitation and transparency will all benefit – for people in Europe and in developing countries.

The Commission will now launch an EU-wide public consultation on drinking water legislation with a view to improving access to quality water in the EU.which the Vice-President said would no doubt lead to a revision of the existing legislation.

The Commission will also make sure better information is available to empower citizens, by allowing them to follow and participate more actively in water management decisions that are − for the most part − taken at national, regional or local level.

Commissioner Šefčovič said that the decision on how best to operate water services is firmly in the hands of the public authorities in the Member States. However, in response to concerns raised by citizens about liberalisation of water services, the Commission confirmed that the relevant internal market legislation does not apply when local authorities provide water services themselves.