ONE-BLUE to discuss emerging contaminants and regional governance at the European Committee of the Regions

ONE-BLUE to discuss emerging contaminants and regional governance at the European Committee of the Regions

  • The hybrid event will bring together EU representatives, scientists and water-sector stakeholders to discuss how Europe can strengthen its response to emerging contaminants in aquatic ecosystems.


Brussels, 10 June 2026. The European project ONE-BLUE will hold tomorrow, 11 June, the event “ONE-BLUE: Addressing emerging contaminants through regional and local governance”, dedicated to exploring the governance challenges faced by European municipalities and regions in addressing emerging contaminants in rivers, reservoirs, lakes, seas and oceans, and their impact on biodiversity and human health.

The event will take place from 11:30 to 13:00 CET at the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels, in hybrid format. It will gather representatives from European institutions, research centres, water-sector organisations and blue economy experts.

The session will open with welcome remarks, followed by a video intervention from Nils Torvalds, Rapporteur of the revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and former Member of the European Parliament. His contribution will set the EU policy framework, focusing on the revised directive and its relevance to emerging contaminants.

The European Commission perspective will then be presented by Joachim D’Eugenio, Policy Adviser, ENV.C: Zero Pollution, Water Resilience & Green Urban Transition, European Commission. His intervention will address zero pollution, water resilience and the green urban transition.

The scientific dimension of the event will be introduced by Marinella Farré, Coordinator of ONE-BLUE and researcher at IDAEA-CSIC, who will present how the project is advancing scientific knowledge on emerging contaminants in aquatic ecosystems.

She will be followed by Ethel Eljarrat, representative of ONE-BLUE and Director of IDAEA-CSIC, with a video intervention entitled “From scientific evidence to institutional action: connecting research, monitoring and governance”. Her contribution will focus on the need to connect research, monitoring and institutional action.

The programme will also address the practical management of emerging contaminants from the perspective of the water sector. Oliver Loebel, Secretary General of EurEau, will discuss the role of Europe’s drinking water and wastewater operators in managing emerging contaminants. Hugo Harvey, Policy Officer at Aqua Publica Europea, will then focus on public water management, local implementation, affordability and the public interest.

The event will continue with Piet Seuntjens, Research Leader Water at VITO, who will speak about applied water research for regional resilience, connecting science, innovation and implementation.

Finally, Fernando Rojas, Director of the Blue Economy Chair at Miguel Hernández University, will participate through a video intervention on “Emerging Contaminants, Digitalisation and the Future of Public Decision-Making in Marine and Coastal Environments”.

The event will close with final remarks from a Finnova / ONE-BLUE representative, highlighting key reflections and next steps.

Through this event, ONE-BLUE aims to contribute to the dialogue between scientific evidence, EU policy and regional and local governance, supporting a more coordinated and effective European response to emerging contaminants in aquatic ecosystems.