Anglers to the EU Commissioner: Don't compromise on the Water Framework Directive

On Thursday 16 April 2026, representatives of EAA member Sportfiskarna (Sweden) participated in a roundtable discussion on the Water Framework Directive with EU Commissioner Jessica Roswall. There, the association warned that lowered environmental requirements could have serious consequences for aquatic environments and fish stocks. This event was organised in Stockholm – Sweden, where Sportfiskarna’s Eva Thörnelöf and Glenn Douglas participated in the meeting.

“The Water Framework Directive is one of our most important tools for protecting aquatic environments and fish stocks. Opening up for easing risks having far-reaching consequences,” says Eva Thörnelöf, chairman of the board of Sportfiskarna, who participated in the meeting.

Major risks with lowered requirements

The background to the discussion is the EU’s RESourceEU Action Plan, where the ambition is to increase the domestic extraction of critical raw materials. At the same time, demands have also been raised – not least from the mining industry – to change the Water Framework Directive.

During the meeting, Sportfiskarna was clear about the risks of this and highlighted concrete examples of how mining activities can negatively affect water. Emissions of heavy metals, acidic leachate and dam failures can cause serious damage to fish stocks and habitats. In several cases, the consequences have been both extensive and long-lasting, with an impact on entire water systems.

“We see time and time again that the consequences are serious and costly when something goes wrong. This is another reason not to lower the requirements,”
Eva Thörnelöf , Chairman of the Board, Sportfiskarna.

Focus on better processes

Sportfiskarna’s – and supported by EAA – starting point is that there is a need for efficient and legally secure permit processes – but that the solution is not to lower environmental requirements. Experience and research show that many applications for environmental permits are incomplete, which prolongs processing times.

“We understand the need for efficient permit processes, but it must not be at the expense of the environment. On the contrary, the quality of the applications needs to be raised so that the trials can be both faster and better,”
Eva Thörnelöf, Chairman of the Board, Sportfiskarna.

Sportfiskarnas’ message to Ms Roswall was therefore that the way forward is to develop the processes – not to compromise on the environmental requirements that are supposed to protect our waters and fish stocks.

“Anglers are clear, any attempt to change the non-deterioration clause of the Water Framework Directive – to accomodate big mining interests – is a huge step back for Europe and would soon spread to other sectors such as industry, foresty and agriculture”
Glenn Douglas, Sportfiskarna