The Nature Restoration Regulation and the Water Framework Directive: enhancing restoration of freshwater ecosystems, or muddying the waters?

The Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD) and the Nature Restoration Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 (NRR) both require Member States to restore freshwater ecosystems. This study analyzes how these two instruments interact, identifying both synergies and conflicts. It examines the overlap between the objectives of the two instruments; the potential tensions between the targets of “good ecological status” under the WFD and “good condition” in the NRR, as well as inconsistencies between their non-deterioration obligations; the possible integration of existing river basin governance with new NRR requirements; the enforcement mechanisms under the WFD and their applicability to the NRR; and the coherence of freshwater restoration with other policy domains, especially agriculture. Findings suggest that the NRR's more flexible, broad-scale approach to restoration could help overcome several regulatory and practical weaknesses that have limited the WFD's effectiveness, but only if Member States and the Commission address the regulatory mismatch between the two regimes. The WFD's clear non-deterioration obligations and established enforcement mechanisms could reinforce Member States' duties under the NRR. Nonetheless, the new regime could exacerbate implementation problems stemming from limited policy coordination, as the NRR neither requires coordination among the multiple authorities involved in restoration projects, nor establishes a framework for conflict resolution. In short, the NRR ignores the experience of WFD that effectiveness depends not only on ambition, but also on governance design. This gap could significantly hinder the achievement of the NRR's objectives, including its goal of restoring 25,000 km of free-flowing rivers across the EU.