Quality of Europe's bathing waters remains high, latest annual assessment finds

The quality of Europe's bathing water remains high, according to this year's European bathing water quality assessment published today, on the occasion of World Oceans Day (8 June). Just under 85% of swimming sites across Europe monitored in 2019 met the European Union's highest and most stringent ‘excellent' quality standards.

Environment, Fisheries and Oceans Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius said: “Clean bathing water is usually taken as something that is gifted, but it's actually one of the European collective achievements. It's the result of hard work by many people over many years. This year's report once again confirms that European citizens can continue to enjoy very high quality standards when bathing in European waters and all measures must be taken to continue along this path.”

The results published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Commission give a good indication where swimmers can find the best quality bathing waters. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak and restrictive measures put in place across Europe, members of the public are advised to seek updated information from local and national authorities and beach operators about safety measures at bathing sites. To help member states gradually lift travel restrictions and allow tourism businesses to reopen, after months of lockdown, while respecting necessary health precautions the Commission presented on 13 May a package of guidelines and recommendations.

Alongside this year's report, the EEA has also released an updated interactive map showing the performance of each bathing site. Updated country reports are also available, as well as more information on the implementation of the Bathing Water Directive. More information is available in this press release.

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