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The adoption of conclusions on water in the EU’s external action

  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In the format of ministers for development cooperation, the EU Foreign Affairs Council confirmed the conclusions on water in the EU’s external action, which is one of the priorities of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU in development cooperation. The EU will strengthen its reputation as the largest development assistance donor and confirm its impact as the key global actor in this field, also in the light of the UN Conference on the Water Action Decade scheduled for March 2023.

The Council Conclusions on Water encompass a wide range of the most pressing issues and solutions related to water within the scope of development cooperation and the Union’s external action. Water plays a key role in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Sustainable Development Goal 6). It is particularly concerning that more than 2.3 billion people worldwide have no access to drinking water and as many as 3.6 billion people live without access to adequate sanitation. Access to water has taken on even more importance during the COVID-19 pandemic. For this reason, Slovenia has identified water in the EU’s external action as a top priority of its Council Presidency.

Slovenia prepared the Council’s conclusions on water in the EU’s external action in collaboration with the EU member states, the European External Action Service and the European Commission. To this end, Slovenia has organised several events and conferences, such as the “Water and Beyond” conference (18–21 January 2021), a technical seminar on water (14 June 2021), the opening event of the Slovenian Presidency on water and health (12 July 2021), and the recent Conference on Water and Gender Equality that took place on 13 October 2021 in Brussels.