Eleventh meeting of the Roundtable on Financing Water
The OECD and the European Commission co-convened the 11th Roundtable on Financing Water: regional meeting on the EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries on 30 and 31 May 2024, in Brussels, in partnership with the government of the Netherlands, the World Water Council and the World Bank.
The 11th meeting of the Roundtable on Financing Water focused on the EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine. It shed light on needs and opportunities to accelerate investments into water in line with EaPpriorities. Environmental and climate resilience and promoting fair and inclusive societies are among the key objectives of the EaP's post-2020 agenda, which includes specific targets related to improving air and water quality, and are part of the European Union’s Global Gateway Initiative, which aims to mobilise up to EUR 300 billion in investments. The far-reaching Economic and Investment Plan for Eastern Partnerships underpins this agenda, which aims to mobilise EUR 17 billion in investments by 2027. The meeting covered water supply and sanitation, water resources management, and water-risk management, as well as adaptation to climate change.
A wide variety of actors from the water and finance communities were present to incentivise efficient water-related investment in EaP countries. This meeting brought together leaders and representatives from governments (in particular from the EU and EU Member States), public and private investors, financial institutions, development banks, water utilities, regulators, international organisations, commercial banks, and others. It provided countries with an opportunity to highlight policy reforms undertaken at the national level, which have facilitated investments for water security and identify remaining priorities.
Objectives and Themes
The regional meeting of the Roundtable on Financing Water in EaP countries in 2024 aimed to:
- Exchange on EaP country challenges and opportunities for financing water;
- Engage with public and private actors, in particular financial institutions and investors on solutions to scale up investments for water in EaP countries;
- Focus on enabling policy and institutional frameworks, innovative financing approaches and the financial sustainability of water utilities.
Sessions of the Roundtable meeting focused on:
- Financing the EU Water Acquis: Sharing EU Member States’ experience;
- Lessons learned from OECD assessment of the enabling environment for investment in water security in EaP countries;
- Progress towards financially sustainable water sectors: application and reform of economic instruments in EaP countries;
- Leveraging donor financing to diversify financing sources and mechanisms: lessons learned from successful experiences applicable to EaP countries;
- Financing River Basin Management Planning and bringing programmes of measures to life;
- Adapting and financing novel approaches to water management in the EaP countries.
Analytical work
The following background documents informed the Roundtable discussions:
- Four Working Papers on the Economic Aspects of Implementing the EU Water Framework and Floods Directives:
- Water investment planning and financing
- The implementation of the Polluter Pays Principle
- The economics of water scarcity
- Cost recovery
- Assessing the enabling conditions for investment in Armenia's water security: Scorecard pilot test
- Highlights of the review of the enabling environment for investment in water security in EaP countries
- Analysis on the reform of instruments to mobilise domestic finance for water in the EaP countries
- Assessment of the financing gap and available finance from International Financial Institutions and bilateral donors to fund improvements in water security in EaP countries and transboundary basin
- Analysis of cost-effective Nature-based Solutions in the water sector in EaP countries
Discussions were also based on findings from the following report:
- OECD (2020), Financing Water Supply, Sanitation and Flood Protection: Challenges in EU Member States and Policy Options
Video Recordings
11th Roundtable on Financing Water: Regional meeting on the EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries - DAY 1
| Opening Remarks and Session 1 |
Session 2 and Side Event Launch of the EU4ClimateResilience programme |
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| Session 4 |
11th Roundtable on Financing Water: Regional meeting on the EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries - DAY 2
| Session 5 |
Session 6 and Closing Session |
Impacts of the Destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, Ukraine |
Presentations
DAY 1
Opening Session
Ministerial Speech by Ruslan Strilets, Minister, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, Ukraine
Session 1. Improving investment decisions for the implementation of EU water legislation
Intervention by Günter Liebel, Former Secretary General, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management, Austria
Intervention by James Hunt, Senior Engineer, Water Division, European Investment Bank
Intervention by David Tyler, Associate Director – Head of PPI Unit, Sustainable Infrastructure Group, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Session 2. Lessons learned from assessing the enabling environment for investment in water security in EaP countries: Challenges and policy options
Intervention by Guy Halpern, Policy Analyst, Environment Directorate, OECD
Session 4. Accessing finance for improving sustainable water management: availability, challenges, and innovative solutions for EaP countries
Intervention by Tanguy Vincent, Task Team Leader Agriculture, Rural Development, Biodiversity, Agence Française de Développement (AFD)
Intervention by Dina Pons, Managing Partner, Incofin Investment Management
DAY 2
Session 5. Financing River Basin Management Planning
Intervention by Mykhaylo Yanchuk, Head of the State Water Agency, Ukraine
Intervention by Tamara Kutonova, National Policy Dialogue Programme Manager, Environment Division, UNECE
Intervention by Gheorghe Constantin, Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests of Romania
Session 6. From grey to green- adapting and financing novel approaches to water management in EaP countries
Intervention by Sophie Tremolet, Water Team Leader, Environment Directorate, OECD
Intervention by Karin Zaunberger, Policy Officer, European Commission, Directorate General for Environment (DG ENV)
Contacts
For more information, please contact:
- Aude Farnault, OECD: aude.farnault@oecd.org
- Lupita Johanson, OECD: lupita.johanson@oecd.org