Bathing water quality in the EU remains high: Romania above the European average

A new report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) shows that 96% of bathing waters in the European Union meet minimum quality standards, and 85% are classified as "excellent”. The situation remains stable compared to last year, giving European citizens confidence in the quality of bathing sites in the region.

• Romania: good results

Romania is above the European average, with 84% of bathing waters classified as "excellent” and 16% as "good”. No site was reported as having "poor” quality, according to the EEA. This is a significant achievement given that, in recent years, Romanian authorities have invested in wastewater treatment infrastructure and monitoring of inland and coastal water quality, particularly on the Black Sea coast and in tourist areas with lakes or rivers.

• Cyprus, Bulgaria and Greece - top in quality

Cyprus leads the European ranking, with 99.2% of its bathing waters in "excellent” condition, followed by: Bulgaria - 97.9% excellent, Greece - 97%, Austria - 95.8%,

Croatia - 95.2%. Albania is experiencing a significant decline in the quality of its bathing waters, with only 16% classified as excellent, a drop of over 25 percentage points compared to the previous year. Poland, although recording a slight improvement, remains below standards, with 58.1% of waters in excellent condition.

• France below average, but recovering slightly

In France, only 74.2% of bathing sites are classified as "excellent", below the EU average. In addition, 3.4% of them have been labelled "poor", forcing French authorities to take measures to restrict access to the water and to remediate sources of pollution.

• Coastal waters at an advantage

According to the EEA report, coastal waters are generally cleaner than inland waters, benefiting from more frequent renewal and a greater natural capacity for self-purification. Conversely, lakes, rivers and streams are more vulnerable to episodic pollution, such as heavy rains or droughts, which can concentrate pollutants in stagnant areas.

• Measures in case of pollution

Where water is classified as "poor', authorities are required to ban bathing in the following season, implement pollution reduction measures and inform the public about the health risks. In 2023, 321 bathing sites in Europe were in this category, but 67 of them showed improvements in 2024.

The 2024 EEA report confirms that most beaches, lakes and rivers in the EU offer safe conditions for swimming. Romania is among the countries with good results, encouraging tourism and reconfirming the authorities' commitment to protecting natural resources. However, the cases in Albania, Poland and France demonstrate that monitoring and infrastructure efforts need to be continued and expanded, especially in the face of climate and urban challenges that can affect water quality.