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4.1.3        Potential conflicts with thematic policies

Without diluting the importance of reaching the good status for all water bodies in Europe and a sustainable flood risk management, it is clear that many other (environmental) objectives of the EU are using the same (scarce) resources: water and the adjacent land areas: to secure food production, fertile arable land is needed, to reduce CO₂ emissions renewable energy needs increased and less fuel used per ton and km of goods transported.

The renewable energy directive (EU 2009), which includes hydropower, and the white paper on transport (EC 2011e), stimulating the integration of inland waterways into the transport system in their support for multimodal transport, are two examples of thematic policies aiming to improve Europe’s environmental quality, hence potentially conflicting with the aims of the WFD, the FD and the BHDs. A successful implementation of all these agendas is only possible when there’s a sufficient level of coordination and cooperation. Amongst the tools available to encourage a more integrated approach – linking socio-economic issues with environmental aspects - are the strategic environmental assessment directive (EU 2001) and the environmental impact assessments directive (EU 2012b, 2014a).