Does the water in European bathing beaches remain safe? – The EC has published an assessment of the directive

On March 6, 2025. The European Commission published an assessment of the Bathing Water Quality Directive (SWD(2025) 52 final). In addition, in March 2025, it published a dashboard of zero-emission indicators by region and city, which also outlines bathing water quality and the progress made in each region based on current legal requirements.

It should be noted that the provisions of the Bathing Water Quality Directive, in effect since 2006, have been evaluated to measure the achievements to date in meeting the adopted targets and to identify any gaps and opportunities for simplification.

Status of water quality in EU bathing areas

Published information shows that by 2023, at least 85 percent of the European Union’s sea and land bathing sites were rated as excellent, and 96 percent met minimum water quality standards. The analysis indicates that the directive has proven effective in protecting EU bathing users.

Nonetheless, it was found that there is scope to further improve the quality of the water environment while aligning activities with the EU’s One Health and Clean Competitiveness ambitions, while reducing the administrative burden by increasing consistency with the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC.

The follow-up to the assessment will be discussed in the context of the work on the Water Resilience Strategy and the European Ocean Pact.

Directive on bathing water quality

The Bathing Water Quality Directive, adopted in 2006, regulates the management of water quality at some 22,000 bathing sites across the EU. It monitors water quality for two microbiological parameters and requires action to be taken in inadequate situations and relevant information to be made available to the public.

The purpose of the directive is to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment and protect human health in the use of bathing waters. The directive is intended to provide:

• Monitoring of bathing water quality,
• Introduction of improved management measures,
• making information available to the public.

First evaluation of the directive on bathing water quality

The first evaluation of the Bathing Water Quality Directive is based on:

• Legal requirements under the Bathing Water Quality Directive;
• EC guidelines on better regulation;
• the broader policy context of the European Green Deal, with a focus on the Pollution Eradication Action Plan and the EU Biodiversity Strategy.

Data reported annually by member states to the European Environment Agency (EEA) show that bathing water quality in the EU has improved since the directive was adopted. The assessment indicates that the implementation of the Bathing Water Quality Directive has protected bathers across the EU, thanks to the identification of bathing waters by national authorities and regular monitoring of two health parameters (enterococci and E. coli).

The assessment concludes that there is an opportunity to raise the actual level of protection for both health and the environment, in line with the EU’s ambitions to eliminate pollution or increase biodiversity.

The assessment identified the possibility of simplifying monitoring and reporting through digitization. In addition, the need for consistency with other legal frameworks, particularly the Water Framework Directive, was identified.

Results of the evaluation of the Bathing Water Quality Directive

An assessment published by the EC confirms that implementation has steadily improved in terms of the number of bathing sites and water quality. The number of bathing sites identified and reported by member states to the EEA increased from 2006 to 2013, and then remained relatively stable until 2020. The number of bathing sites designated in the EU increased by 0.5 percent (108 bathing sites) between the 2022 and 2023 seasons, bringing the total to 21,766 sites in 2023.

For the 2023 bathing season, the requirement that all bathing waters be of at least sufficient quality was met at 96 percent of sites. In four countries – Cyprus, Austria, Croatia and Greece – about 95 percent of bathing waters were of excellent quality. In Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Malta, Luxembourg and Romania, all bathing waters met at least the minimum standard. However, as the published document indicates, in four EU countries – Belgium, Estonia, Hungary and Poland – less than 70 percent of bathing waters were of excellent quality.

Assessment of bathing water management

The directive requires all official bathing areas to have at least sufficient status. The published assessment confirms success in this regard, with only 1.5 percent of the 21,766 bathing sites failing to demonstrate the quality level specified in the directive. For the sites that did not meet the target, the following were cited as reasons: the cost of the investment needed to improve water quality – especially in rural areas; seasonal variability; the special situation of estuaries, which are affected by pollution from different municipalities and regions; and the lack of human resources to enforce the directive’s requirements.

Costs of implementing the directive

As the published assessment indicates, the total cost of fully implementing the directive is estimated at 575 million euros per year. This includes the costs of monitoring, reporting and assessing water quality (31 million euros per year) and investment and operating costs directly related to wastewater treatment (544 million euros per year), covered mainly by the relevant public authorities.

It is estimated that the direct benefits of implementing the directive in terms of protecting human health amount to 1652 million euros per year.

However, since the directive is embedded in a broader framework of water legislation, doubts are indicated as to whether the costs and benefits can be attributed solely to the Bathing Water Quality Directive.

Assessment of bathing water quality in Poland

In Poland, the number of bathing sites grew from 2006 to 2020, with the number nearly doubling in 2020 (from 316 to 602). The trend in bathing water quality in inland and coastal waters shows an increase in the number of bathing sites with good and excellent ratings. With about 70 percent of bathing waters in Poland being of excellent quality in 2023, according to data reported to the EEA.

In the 2023 season, the number of bathing sites in marine waters was 187, and inland waters 552. The total number of samples tested was 3143.

Bathing water quality for the 2023 season was classified as:

• excellent – at 406 (54.9 percent) bathing sites,
• good – at 106 (14.3 percent) bathing sites,
• Sufficient – at 33 (4.5 percent) bathing sites,
• Inadequate – in 21 (2.8 percent) bathing sites,
• unclassified – at 173 (23.4 percent) bathing sites.

For more information on bathing beaches in Poland, visit the website of the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate.

Conclusions of the assessment

The document published by the EC indicates the following conclusions:

• level of ambition is not in line with the latest scientific findings and the European Green Deal in terms of proportionality;
• The existing directive is not sufficiently consistent with the One Health approach;
• The WHO recommended that the frequency of monitoring should be better adapted to local realities, and cyanobacteria should be included in the classification system;
• satellite imagery can support more systematic identification of bathing areas;
• Changes in bathing habits (increase in year-round bathing) should be taken into account;
• Adopting a risk-based approach combined with better use of digitization could result in a 25 percent reduction in compliance and enforcement costs at the EU level;
• The classification system from the Bathing Water Quality Directive could be more closely aligned with the information available in other directives, e.g., on environmental quality standards, wastewater, the Water Framework Directive, allowing consistent messages to be given to the public.