The Council was informed by the Presidency about the state of play of the the proposal for a directive on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy (priority substances).
This proposal concerns the review of the list of priority substances (PS) in the field of water policy, i.e. the chemicals identified among those presenting a significant risk to or via the aquatic environment at EU level which are listed in Annex X to the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The list is to be revised following the review of priority substances required by both the WFD (Directive 2006/60/EC) and the Environmental Quality Standards Directive (EQSD) (Directive 2008/105/EC).
Discussions in the Council preparatory bodies are ongoing. The main outstanding issues concern the list of Priority Substances (PS) and Priority Hazardous Substances (PHS), the measures laid down in the WFD related to ubiquitous, persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances (u-PBT) and the new watch-list mechanism.