The OECD and the European Commission co-convened the 11th Roundtable on Financing Water: regional meeting on the EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries on 30 and 31 May 2024, in Brussels, in partnership with the government of the Netherlands, the World Water Council and the World Bank.
The 11th meeting of the Roundtable on Financing Water focused on the EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine. It shed light on needs and opportunities to accelerate investments into water in line with EaPpriorities. Environmental and climate resilience and promoting fair and inclusive societies are among the key objectives of the EaP's post-2020 agenda, which includes specific targets related to improving air and water quality, and are part of the European Union’s Global Gateway Initiative, which aims to mobilise up to EUR 300 billion in investments. The far-reaching Economic and Investment Plan for Eastern Partnerships underpins this agenda, which aims to mobilise EUR 17 billion in investments by 2027. The meeting covered water supply and sanitation, water resources management, and water-risk management, as well as adaptation to climate change.
A wide variety of actors from the water and finance communities were present to incentivise efficient water-related investment in EaP countries. This meeting brought together leaders and representatives from governments (in particular from the EU and EU Member States), public and private investors, financial institutions, development banks, water utilities, regulators, international organisations, commercial banks, and others. It provided countries with an opportunity to highlight policy reforms undertaken at the national level, which have facilitated investments for water security and identify remaining priorities.
