The European Water Framework Directive: A Framework?

The European Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for the Community action in the field of water policy-in short, WFD) is probably the most ambitious and complex of all European environmental regulations. In Spain, and in some other countries, the idea has spread that the WFD involves a radical change of perspective and will obsolete the previous regulations about water. In my opinion, this mystification of the WFD is profoundly naive and reveals a lack of knowledge of history and an insufficient perspective on the global problem. In some sectors the WFD has generated a mirage and collective illusion, from which it must awaken if it wishes to advance, in an effective, non-rhetorical way, towards real improvements of the existing situation.