Reverse gear
A new groundwater protection directive, introduced by EU environment ministers on June 24, 2005, is being viewed as a complete hogwash. The legislation ostensibly aims to improve the quality of groundwater, an important source of drinking water in many European countries, and replaces Article 17 of the EU Water Framework Directive of 2000. But experts allege it actually backtracks on existing groundwater protection measures.
The directive provides for member states to individually monitor and assess their groundwater and rectify pollution problems. Its approach is largely based on the