According to the Environmental Quality Standards Directive 2008/105/EC as amended by Directive 2013/39/EU (EQSD), a mechanism was needed to provide high-quality monitoring information on the concentrations of potentially polluting substances in the aquatic environment to support future prioritization exercises in line with Article 16(2) of Directive 2000/60/EC (Water Framework Directive, WFD), and thereby to improve the protection of the aquatic environment and of human health via the environment. The mechanism was aimed at emerging pollutants and other substances for which the available monitoring data was either insufficient or of insufficient quality for the purpose of identifying the risk posed across the EU. A Watch List was created with a limited number of such substances and monitoring them EU-wide for up to 2 years. A maximum number of 10 substances or groups of substances had been included in the first Watch list, increasing by one at each update, up to a maximum of 14 substances or groups of substances. Frequent reviews of the list ensure that substances are not monitored longer than necessary, and that substances for which a significant risk at EU level is confirmed are identified as candidate priority substances with as little delay as possible.
The main criteria for inclusion in the initial list of candidate substances were that i) the substance is suspected of posing a significant risk to, or via, the aquatic environment, meaning there is reliable evidence of hazard and of a possible exposure to aquatic organisms and mammals, but ii) there is not enough information to assess the EU-wide exposure for the substance, i.e., insufficient monitoring data or data of insufficient quality, nor sufficient modeled exposure data to decide whether to prioritize the substance.
The substances of the watch list are to be selected from among those for which the available information indicates that they may pose a significant risk, at Union level, to or via the aquatic environment, but for which monitoring data are insufficient to come to a conclusion on the actual risk posed. According to Article 8b(2) of Directive 2008/105/EC, the Commission is to update the watch list every two years. When updating the list, the Commission is to remove any substance for which a risk-based assessment, as referred to in Article 16(2) of Directive 2000/60/EC can be concluded without additional monitoring data.
Based on the monitoring data obtained for the other three substances, namely metaflumizone, amoxicillin and ciprofloxacin, since 2018, the Commission concluded that insufficient high-quality monitoring data had been obtained, and therefore, those substances should remain on the watch list. The inclusion of the various pharmaceuticals is consistent with the EU Strategic Approach to Pharmaceuticals in the Environment(5), and the inclusion of the two antibiotics is also consistent with the European One Health Action Plan against Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)(6), which supports the use of the watch list to ‘improve knowledge of the occurrence and spread of antimicrobials in the environment’.
Commission Implementing Decision