European Environment Agency's home page

Europe’s bathing waters remain safe

The vast majority of bathing water sites in Europe met the European Union's most stringent ‘excellent’ bathing quality standards in 2023.

ImageNenad Buzjak, WaterPIX /EEA

What we do

Together with our Eionet network, we provide the knowledge and the data needed to achieve sustainability in Europe.

We support policies with evidence-based knowledge
to help the European Union and our member countries achieve sustainability

We build and maintain networks and partnerships
to facilitate sharing of knowledge and expertise across Europe

We inform public and policy discussions
on sustainability solutions and challenges

We collect, quality check and disseminate data,
making full use of digitalisation and latest innovative technologies

More about us

Igor Popovic, Climate Change PIX /EEA

Europe is not prepared for rapidly growing climate risks

Extreme heat, drought, wildfires, and flooding, as experienced in recent years, will worsen in Europe even under optimistic global warming scenarios and affect living conditions throughout the continent. The EEA has published the first ever European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA) to help identify policy priorities for climate change adaptation and for climate-sensitive sectors.

According to the assessment, Europe’s policies and adaptation actions are not keeping pace with the rapidly growing risks. In many cases, incremental adaptation will not be sufficient and, as many measures to improve climate resilience require a long time, urgent action may be needed even on risks that are not yet critical.

Deciding on Europe’s direction

Saving energy and investing in renewables boosts Europe’s competitiveness and makes us less dependent on imported fossil fuels. Safeguarding nature and reducing pollution will improve people’s health and long-term security of food production. Accelerating progress towards circular economy will save resources and help secure critical raw materials. There are still many very good reasons to continuing and accelerating the green transition in Europe as it supports our security, competitiveness and people’s well-being.

Leena Ylä-Mononen, EEA Executive Director

Read full interview with EEA Executive Director