The environmental condition of Danish lakes, streams and groundwater is catastrophic. Yet the government is postponing efforts to achieve good condition until 2033, six years later than the EU's commitment. This has now prompted four green NGOs to sharply criticize the government in a letter of complaint to the EU Commission.

The condition of Danish lakes, streams and groundwater is critical. Of the 985 lakes covered by the Danish water area plans, currently none have both good ecological and chemical status. Of the 18.600 kilometers of rivers and streams included in the river basin management plans, only 500 kilometers – corresponding to almost 3 percent – ​​are in good status. And almost half – 43 percent – ​​of the Danish groundwater bodies are not in good chemical status.

In other words, the situation is serious for Danish freshwater areas.

Despite the grim realities, the Danish government has decided to postpone the implementation of the necessary measures to bring lakes, streams and groundwater to good condition until 2033. According to four of the country's green NGOs, Denmark's lack of efforts is in violation of the EU's Water Framework Directive, which obliges member states to initiate the necessary measures to create good condition in the aquatic environment by the end of 2027 at the latest.

The government is thus heading towards a serious breach of EU legislation. Therefore, the Danish Nature Conservation Association, the Danish Sports Fishing Association, Greenpeace and the Green Transition Denmark are now sharply criticizing the government to the EU Commission:

“We strongly urge the Commission to engage with the Danish government to stop this deliberate violation of the Water Framework Directive. The government should not wait eight years to implement necessary measures that could be taken now to save our surface waters (ed. rivers and lakes) and groundwater. It has been 25 years since the Water Framework Directive came into force and all governments have had sufficient time to do what is required.”, the four NGOs write in a complaint to the Commission.

According to the four organizations, Denmark risks being sued for violating the directive. In the worst case, this could lead to fines and sanctions from the EU.

“We have had almost 25 years to improve the condition of lakes, streams and groundwater – now it seems that decades of political failure are continuing. Denmark has committed itself through the EU to achieving good condition in lakes, streams and groundwater by 2027 at the latest. Yet the minister says that this will not be achieved until six years later at the earliest. This is a clear breach of the Water Framework Directive and completely unreasonable.”, says Maria Reumert Gjerding, president of the Danish Nature Conservation Association.

"Over the years, successive governments have postponed the necessary efforts for our lakes and streams. We have been calling for it for years, and yet the area has been under-prioritized and under-funded for a long time. The fact that the government now believes that it will take 8 years before we reach our goal is completely unacceptable and we would strongly urge that the pace be greatly accelerated together with the municipalities.", says Torben Kaas, chairman of the Danish Sports Fishing Association.

“Our aquatic environment is in crisis, but the government is turning a blind eye by postponing the action that should help our aquatic environment. This is not only deeply irresponsible, but is also a breach of EU law. That is why we are complaining about the government, and we strongly expect that the EU will also demand that the government do much more.”, says Christian Fromberg, campaign manager for agriculture, nature and forests at Greenpeace.

"It is deeply worrying that the government will only reach its goal with efforts for lakes, streams and groundwater 6 years after the deadline. This is a clear violation of EU legislation and unacceptable political hesitation. They have now had 25 years to get this done by 2027 and even with a recent Tripartite Agreement in their bag, they choose to postpone the efforts that are to save our impoverished Danish aquatic environment", says Bjarke Møller, director of the Green Transition Denmark.