This document reports on a joint project by the European Commission DG Environment and the OECD on financing needs and capacities of EU member states. The OECD team was coordinated by Xavier Leflaive. Nathalie Cliquot, Lisa Danielson, Kathleen Dominique, Tatiana Efimova, Raphaël Jachnik, Hannah Leckie and Harry Smythe contributed substantively. Simon Buckle, Head of the CBW Division, provided guidance. Ines Reale and Anna Rourke provided valuable assistance.
The OECD benefitted from substantial inputs and active cooperation from two teams of international experts: Acteon, led by Pierre Strosser, with Rianne van Duinen and Gloria De Paoli; and EcoFutures, led by Richard Ashley, with Bruce Horton. Bernard Barraqué contributed on selected topics.
Experts contributed to country-specific analyses: Irina Ribarova (Bulgaria), Vesna Simic (Croatia), Ayis Iacovides (Cyprus), Dionysis Assimacopoulos (Greece), Kristina Veidemane (Latvia), Daiva Seméniené (Lithuania), Krzysztof Berbeka (Poland), Elena Fatulova (Slovakia), Gonzalo Delacámara (Spain).
Preliminary analyses were discussed at a workshop co-convened by the OECD and the European Commission, in Brussels, on 18 May 2018. Policy recommendations were discussed at a workshop co-convened by the OECD and the European Commission, in Brussels, on 6 December 2019.
National workshops were organised in 9 countries, gathering senior officials and a wide range of stakeholders, to fine-tune the understanding of the financing challenges and explore policy options. The authorities of the countries are gratefully acknowledged: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.
The European Commission provided constructive guidance throughout the process: Michel Sponar and Hans Stielstra, with Lie Heymans, Trudy Higgins and Anna Marczak. Nele-Frederike Rosenstock managed the project beautifully on both substance and process. They are gratefully acknowledged.
The project would not have been possible without the financial support from the European Commission - DG Environment. It also benefitted from and contributed to the work of the Roundtable on Financing Water, a joint initiative by the OECD, the government of the Netherlands, the World Water Council and the World Bank.