EU-ASE Response to the European Water Resilience Strategy Public Consultation
The European Alliance to Save Energy supports the European Commission’s efforts to develop a European Water Resilience Strategy.
Europe faces both a competitiveness crisis and increasing water scarcity. To address these challenges, the Water Efficiency First (WE1st) principle must be embedded in the strategy. Drawing from the Energy Efficiency First (EE1st) principle, we emphasize that prioritizing efficiency in water use across all sectors enhances economic resilience, and industrial competitiveness while supporting climate goals.
The EE1 principle, embedded in EU energy policy, requires prioritization of efficiency measures in planning, policy, and investment decisions. Similarly, the WE1st principle should be formally integrated into EU legislation for a systemic application. Water demand reduction across industries should be a priority, ensuring efficiency without placing burden on consumers. Member States must integrate water efficiency into decision-making, aligning it with climate, industrial, and digital policies, while ensuring due consideration in the built environment. A water-energy nexus approach is crucial, leveraging synergies between water conservation and energy savings, particularly in semiconductors, and data centers.
In a fast-changing political and economic environment, 2025 was a year of continued efforts to strengthen security, stability, and competitiveness for European businesses.
Throughout the year, our work demonstrated that energy efficiency is not only essential to achieving climate goals, but also a key driver of innovation, energy independence and sustainable long-term growth across Europe.
Strong engagement with policymakers, combined with the successful organisation of the 4th European Energy Efficiency Day, highlighted the importance of collaboration and dialogue in advancing shared objectives. Partnerships across sectors and institutions remained central to delivering impact and shaping effective energy policies.
Looking ahead to 2026, we will intensify our efforts to secure the regulatory certainty that can accelerate the energy transition, while providing businesses with the investment confidence they need and strengthening Europe’s competitiveness.
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