Framework for Community action in the field of water policy. Water Framework Directive

The Commission acknowledges that the Council's common position in particular in terms of technical specification further develops the original proposal. The Commission also welcomes the inclusion of a good number of the European Parliament's amendments inter alia on the inclusion of wetlands, public consultation, reporting, the role of Parliament in the further development of proposal on priority substances and a number of definitions or precision of existing definitions. The Commission nevertheless disagrees with the common position on a number of points as indicated above, in particular the provisions on timetable for implementation, charging, and the way reference is made to commitments under international agreements and in particular to the OSPAR, Barcelona and HELCOM conventions.�