Ecologic organises an international workshop on the "Economic Analysis according to the EU Water Framework Directive: Present status of Implementation" that will take place on 20 - 21 November 2003 on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear safety (BMU). The workshop is intended to further the international exchange of experience and addresses Member States and first Round Accession Countries.

Economic aspects have been assigned a key role in the implementation process of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). The Economic Analysis, which needs to be completed by the year 2004 according to Articles 5, 9 and Annex III of the Directive, constitutes an important contribution to an increased integration of economic considerations into water management.

The aim of this conference is to further the exchange on national approaches for the Economic Analysis 2004 at a point in time at which improvements and adjustments based on the approaches chosen and experiences made in other countries are still possible. Furthermore, the workshop addresses the issue of co-operation in international river basins with regard to the Economic Analysis 2004.

In preparation of this workshop, a detailed background report (pdf, 96 KB, English) has been compiled on the basis of expert interviews and questionnaires (see Annex, pdf, 524 KB, English) that outlines the present implementation status (November 2003) of the economic analysis in all EU Member States and first round Accession Countries.

More detailed information on this workshop, including e.g. the workshop programme, has been made available at the events website.