Implementation of the Water Directive

The plan considers that EU law contains unreasonable limitations on member states' right to carry out the policy they want and wants Sweden to challenge the supranational rules. The counter-proposal's demand for national self-determination for permit authorities and for environmental protection installations such as sewage treatment always being able to be expanded aligns with that and aims at better cleaning of pharmaceutical residues. At the same time, the plan requires sharp environmental legislation, which makes the assessment uncertain.

• EU limits democratic decisionsdecisive»EU-rätten innehåller orimliga begränsningar av medlemsländernas« (party programme ↗)“EU law contains unreasonable limitations on member states'”
• challenge supranational rules»Vi vill att Sverige utmanar EU:s överstatliga fördrag och lagar« (party programme ↗)“We want Sweden to challenge the EU's supranational treaties and laws”
• inter-state minimum rules»en bättre väg att gå än överstatliga beslut.« (party programme ↗)“a better path to take than supranational decisions.”
• sharp environmental legislation»miljömål som följs upp med skarp lagstiftning och praktiskt arbete.« (party programme ↗)“environmental targets followed up with sharp legislation and practical work.”

flags: generella undantag riskerar att försvaga vattenskyddet

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme's goal of a toxic-free environment with clean water throughout Sweden speaks for investments in purification of pharmaceutical residues being able to be carried out, and the election manifesto demands that slow permit processes be expedited. The counter-proposal wants precisely that environmental protection facilities always be allowed to expand. The plan does not address the Water Directive's exemption rules, hence derived coverage.

• clean water throughout Swedendecisive»Giftfri miljö med ren luft och rent vatten i hela Sverige.« (party programme ↗)“Toxic-free environment with clean air and clean water throughout Sweden.”
• faster permit processes»Långsamma tillståndsprocesser ska snabbas på.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Slow permit processes shall be expedited.”
• protection of water environments»Värn av biologisk mångfald och Sveriges värdefulla natur och vattenmiljöer.« (party programme ↗)“Protection of biological diversity and Sweden's valuable nature and water environments.”
• national determination»För andra frågor, som exempelvis skatter, ska den nationella bestämmanderätten vara kvar.« (party programme ↗)“For other issues, such as taxes, national determination shall remain.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan wants Sweden to work through the EU for all countries around shared waters to introduce measures against emissions, and that member states should be allowed to go ahead with stricter environmental legislation — not water down the directive with general exemptions and national self-determination for permit authorities. The demand for reduced pharmaceutical residues is shared, but the counter-proposal's method of amending the directive goes against the plan's line.

• common water requirements via EUdecisive»Sverige måste verka genom internationella organisationer, i synnerhet EU, för att alla länder runt gemensamma vatten ska införa dessa åtgärder.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden must work through international organizations, especially the EU, for all countries around shared waters to introduce these measures.”
• go ahead, not fall behind»Medlemsländerna måste få rätt att gå före med hårdare lagstiftning till skydd för miljö och hälsa även om det strider mot EU:s inre marknad.« (party programme ↗)“Member states must have the right to go ahead with stricter legislation to protect environment and health even if it conflicts with the EU's internal market.”
• clean water as a fundamental condition»Rent vatten är en förutsättning för att kunna bevara den biologiska mångfalden.« (party programme ↗)“Clean water is a prerequisite for being able to preserve biological diversity.”
• reduced pharmaceutical residues»Utsläpp av miljöstörande ämnen såsom kväve, fosfor, läkemedelsrester, hormonstörande ämnen, tungmetaller och nanopartiklar ska reduceras« (party programme ↗)“Emissions of environmentally harmful substances such as nitrogen, phosphorus, pharmaceutical residues, hormone-disrupting substances, heavy metals and nanoparticles should be reduced”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The election manifesto states that the climate cannot wait for expensive and complicated rule systems and wants to halve permit times for green investments and give environmental benefit greater weight in assessment. The counter-proposal's demand that treatment plants and other environmental protection activities can always be expanded, with reasonable exceptions and national discretion, is the same commitment. The plan's promise to save lakes, watercourses and seas also carries the demand for investments against pharmaceutical residues.

• faster assessment of environmentally beneficial projectsdecisive»Det är dags att halvera tiden det tar att få tillstånd för gröna investeringar och reformera miljöbalken så att ett projekts klimatnytta ges större vikt i miljöprövningen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It is time to halve the time it takes to get permits for green investments and reform the Environmental Code so that a project's climate benefit is given greater weight in environmental assessment.”
• rules must not hinder environmental benefit»Klimatet kan inte vänta på dyra och krångliga regelverk.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The climate cannot wait for expensive and complicated rule systems.”
• cleaner water»Rädda Sveriges sjöar, vattendrag och hav. Våra barn ska kunna bada utan att utsättas för gifter, nedskräpning eller algblomning.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Save Sweden's lakes, watercourses and seas. Our children should be able to swim without being exposed to poisons, pollution or algal blooms.”
• national discretion»Principen måste vara att beslut fattas så nära medborgaren som möjligt och att endast de beslut som måste fattas gemensamt beslutas på EU-nivå.« (party programme ↗)“The principle must be that decisions are made as close to the citizen as possible and that only decisions that must be made jointly are decided at EU level.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan requires continued efforts to prevent pollutants such as pharmaceuticals from spreading in our water and that waste policy prevents pharmaceutical residues from reaching nature. A regulatory framework that prevents expansion of treatment plants thereby counters the plan's own goals, and the plan sees technical development as a central part of the solution to environmental problems. The counter-proposal's demand to amend the directive so that environmentally protective facilities can always be expanded thereby aligns with the plan.

• stop pharmaceuticals in waterdecisive»Samtidigt behövs fortsatta insatser för att förhindra att skräp och föroreningar, som plast och läkemedel, sprids i våra vatten.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“At the same time continued efforts are needed to prevent rubbish and pollutants, such as plastic and pharmaceuticals, from spreading in our water.”
• dangerous substances out of nature»Avfallspolitiken måste förebygga och förhindra att tungmetaller, läkemedelsrester och andra« (party programme ↗)“Waste policy must prevent and stop heavy metals, pharmaceutical residues and other”
• right to clean water»Alla har rätt till rent vatten.« (party programme ↗)“Everyone has the right to clean water.”
• technology solves environmental problems»Teknisk utveckling är en central del av lösningen på dagens miljöproblem.« (party programme ↗)“Technical development is a central part of the solution to today's environmental problems.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan requires that environmental policy is so flexible that each country and region can adapt measures according to its unique conditions and that the EU's tasks are delimited to prevent unwelcome centralization, which supports the requirement for reasonable exceptions and national self-determination for licensing authorities. That treatment plants should be able to be expanded meets the plan's principle that the polluter pays and the protection of clean water. The plan does not mention the water directive, so the conclusion is derived.

• adaptation according to local conditionsdecisive»så flexibel att varje land och region kan anpassa åtgärder efter sina unika förhållanden.« (party programme ↗)“so flexible that each country and region can adapt measures according to its unique conditions.”
• delimited EU powers»En avgränsning av EU:s uppgifter är nödvändig för att« (party programme ↗)“A delimitation of the EU's tasks is necessary to”
• the polluter pays»förorenaren betalar, bör vara centrala i miljöarbetet« (party programme ↗)“the polluter pays, should be central in environmental work”
• stewardship of water resources»Miljön och naturresurserna måste förvaltas ansvarsfullt, så att goda livsbetingelser inte äventyras och så att kommande generationer också får del av dem.« (party programme ↗)“The environment and natural resources must be managed responsibly, so that good living conditions are not jeopardized and so that future generations also benefit from them.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The counter-proposal wants to amend the water directive so that water treatment facilities and other environmental protection facilities can always be expanded, with reasonable exceptions and national discretion. The plan explicitly commits to investing in water treatment research and expansion of advanced water treatment, which requires that the licensing rules do not block such investments. The plan also wants to prevent over-implementation of EU decisions and allow decisions to be made at the lowest possible level.

• expanded advanced water treatmentdecisive»Satsa på forskning om vattenrening samt utbyggnad av avancerad vattenrening« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Invest in water treatment research and expansion of advanced water treatment”
• against over-implementation»Minska regelkrånglet och onödig byråkrati, bland annat genom att motverka överimplementering i Sverige av EU-beslut« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Reduce red tape and unnecessary bureaucracy, inter alia by preventing over-implementation in Sweden of EU decisions”
• national discretion»Beslut ska fattas på lägsta möjliga nivå, så nära medborgarna som möjligt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Decisions shall be made at the lowest possible level, as close to citizens as possible.”
• cleaner water environment»Förstärka det gemensamma Östersjöarbetet för åtgärder mot övergödning och nedskräpning« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Strengthen the joint Baltic work for measures against eutrophication and littering”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan requires that EU rules become fewer and more flexible based on each member state's conditions and that national self-determination be strengthened. Working for the Water Framework Directive to be changed so that treatment plants can always be expanded and that permit authorities be given national room follows from this. The plan additionally wants to streamline permit processes and simultaneously increase pace in work on the sea environment, which expanded treatment serves.

• more flexible EU rulesdecisive»EU-reglerna måste bli färre och mer flexibla utifrån varje medlemsstats unika landskap, tradition och standarder.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“EU rules must become fewer and more flexible based on each member state's unique landscape, tradition and standards.”
• national self-determination»Stärka det nationella självbestämmandet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Strengthen national self-determination”
• effective permit processes»Effektivisera och öka förutsägbarheten i tillståndsprocesserna för gruvnäring, elnätsutbyggnad och industri« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Streamline and increase predictability in permit processes for mining, power grid expansion and industry”
• better sea environment»Öka takten i arbetet med att återställa havsmiljön i Östersjön« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Increase pace in work to restore the sea environment in the Baltic Sea”