Source: European Parliament
Member States must ensure compliance with EU law, including verifying if assessments under Directives 2000/60/EC[1], 2011/92/EU[2], 92/43/EEC[3] and 2009/147/EC[4] are required for a project and, if so, assessing if they were performed in accordance with that legislation. Based on the information provided, the Commission cannot establish a breach of these EU Directives at this point in time.
In its role as guardian of the Treaties, the Commission monitors Member States’ compliance with EU law, focusing its enforcement action on systemic issues of non-compliance[5]. National courts are competent to verify compliance with EU law for individual cases.
Investment 4.1 ‘Primary water infrastructure for the security of water supply’ of the national recovery and resilience plan[6] (RRP) aims to ensure security of water supply and increase network resilience[7].
The Commission does not participate to the selection of projects, which falls under the remit of the Member State, but assesses the implementation of measures on the basis of the annex to the Council Implementing Decision on the Italian RRP[8].
Member States’ authorities, including the judiciary, are primarily responsible to ensure compliance with EU law, including verifying compliance of the specific projects undertaken in the context of the RRP.
- [1] Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, OJ L 327, 22.12.2000.
- [2] Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, OJ L 26, 28.1.2012, as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU.
- [3] Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.
- [4] Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds, OJ L 20, 26.1.2010.
- [5] As set out in Communication of 19 January 2017 ‘EU law: Better results through better application’, C/2016/8600, OJ C 18, 19.1.2017, and in Communication of 13 October 2022 ‘Enforcing EU law for a Europe that delivers’, COM(2022) 518 final.
- [6] https://commission.europa.eu/business-economy-euro/economic-recovery/recovery-and-resilience-facility/country-pages/italys-recovery-and-resilience-plan_en.
- [7] Target M2C4-29 envisages increasing security of water supply and resilience of 50 water systems.
- [8] https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/10d790a3-f955-4377-aa97-b3f74d3d179d_en?filename=COM_2025_285_1_EN_annexe_proposition_cp_part1_v3.pdf.