In Sweden, a major rift has emerged on a possible suspension of the implementation of the EU’s Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD). The pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries support the European People’s Party’s (EPP) move in the European Parliament to try to amend the directive, while government and other stakeholders oppose it.
The new extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme, directed at pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies, to ensure that their products comply with EU regulations when placed on the EU market, is the root of key divisions.
Both industries argue that the EPR unfairly targets their sectors and that disproportionate funding could disrupt medicine supplies while violating the “polluter pays” principle, as other sources of pollution are ignored.
The EPP plans to table a resolution in the European Parliament to pause the implementation of the directive later in April, echoing similar industry calls.
In Sweden, while the pharmaceutical and cosmetics associations support the move, the government continues to back the directive, including the EPR. “The government considers it important, as part of the work to implement the revised Wastewater Directive, to continue analysing and assessing the implications of producer responsibility for the Swedish pharmaceutical market,” a government official told Euractiv.
The official added that “This includes, amongst other things, the anticipated consequences of implementation from the perspectives of supply shortages, accessibility and competition.”
A Swedish rift
Alongside the government, the Swedish Green Party and the Swedish national Water & Wastewater Association (SWWA) – the central organisation for all water and wastewater cleaning operations in Sweden – strongly oppose pausing the directive, as do many local authorities.
Discussions are still ongoing within parties, as well as at a cross-party level. “Swedish conservative MEPs are caught between intense fire from the industry lobbyists to support a freeze and strong domestic demands not to touch the directive,” an EP official told Euractiv. This has intensified internal party discussions.
Jessica Roswall, the Swedish Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, has defended the EPR in the Parliament, and reminded members that the directive provides for member states to ensure that no unintended consequences, such as drug shortages, occur.
“Pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries have been identified as the most responsible for micropollutants reaching urban wastewater. However, I want to stress that extended producer responsibility covers only the cost of the most advanced quaternary treatment. The cost of the primary, the secondary and tertiary treatment is exclusively borne by public budgets and citizens,” she told MEPs in late March.
Bengt Mattson, a senior advisor at LIF (the Swedish Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies), and Peter Jansson, a scientific expert at a Swedish cosmetics association, have explained that their member companies do not wish to pay for the clean-up of more pollution than they contribute to, pointing instead to the responsibilities of other polluters.
The cosmetics industry claims it accounts for only a marginal share of targeted pollutants.
According to Jansson, the cosmetics industry is responsible for only “around 1-2 per cent” of the micro-pollutants targeted by the directive, in contrast to the Commission’s calculations, which place the sector at 26 per cent.
Proposed implementation model
In January 2026, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presented a primary implementation proposal. A standardised, parameter-based payment model is proposed for the industry. A final version of the proposal is expected in 2029.
Around 50-100 of Sweden’s 445 treatment plants are expected to be affected by the new wastewater rules, especially those in vulnerable environments.
“Proposing [such] a model helps in deciding the amount of money that needs to be collected from the producers. However, we will still need robust data and evidence for allocation of the costs between the different companies, in order to secure the fee collection,” Bengt Mattson remarked.
Opposition raises credibility issue
The S&D and Renew parliamentary groups are reportedly opposed to a halt. It is also met with strong opposition from the Green Party.
Swedish MEP Pär Holmgren (Green Party) told Euractiv that a pause will send the wrong signal to producers. “It would be very unfortunate. The market needs clear and predictable rules to be able to adapt. Eroding the directive now would dramatically affect the credibility of the EU co-legislative system.”
“It would also be like playing Russian roulette with nature. Instead, we must ensure that the wastewater is being cleaned from poisonous residues that spill into the groundwater, lakes or seas, and other watercourses, as everybody needs access to clean drinking water,” he added.
Anders Finnson, a senior environmental advisor in Brussels for the Swedish national Water & Wastewater Association, is also worried. A pause risks causing a crisis of confidence in the EU, he told Euractiv.
“We take this issue very seriously as it will damage the EU’s credibility if we cannot rely on the directives the Union sets; these involve major investments for us and may also affect other sectors as well.”
The association considers 80 per cent to be a reasonable figure; “It makes sense”, he said, “if you look at the polluter pays principle and the environmental legislation for other sectors.” He also explained that Sweden was the first EU nation to implement environmental risk values for pharmaceutical residues in lakes, rivers, and coastal waters. Namely, for the anti-inflammatory drug Diclofenac, one antibiotic and two hormone-based medicines.
Nevertheless, today, only a limited number of wastewater treatment plants in the country can remove these substances. Diclofenac has been found to exceed the risk value in about 20 Swedish lakes and rivers – and is at risk of doing so in about 100 more lakes and rivers due to the substance’s common use, Finnson said.
[VA, BM]
Source:
www.euractiv.com