ECI on water formally submitted to the European Commission

On Sunday April 1st , the first possible day, the Citizens Committee of the European Citizen Initiative (ECI) on Water as a Human Right submitted to the European Commission its demand for an ECI.

After having launched the website www.right2water.eu for the European Citizen Initiative “Water is a Human Right not a commodity” , the organisers are awaiting for the EC response. This ECI is sponsored by the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU).

The European Commission then has up to May 31st to reply about this European Citizens Initiative (ECI). After the Commission’s validation, the official registration of signatures can start and from that date there is one year to collect the million signatures.

EPSU and several civil society organisations across Europe will be campaigning for the achievement of Water as a Human Right in Europe. The campaigners believe that water should not be merchandise because it is a common good.

Jan Willem Goudriaan EPSU’s Deputy General Secretary and member of the citizen Committee stated at the press conference today “Access to water is a Human Right. Public services such as water and sanitation should not be liberalised and dominated by commercial and corporate interests. A successful citizens initiative will give the message to the Commission and governments that citizens want a social Europe and reject the negative market and corporation driven Europe”.

EPSU is building a broad alliance of civil society organisations to achieve a million signatures.