On 22 June 2026, the Horizon Europe projects STARS4Water and SOS-Water successfully hosted the joint policy event “Navigating Europe’s Water Challenges: Building Resilience through Science and Policy” in Brussels and online. The event brought together policymakers, river basin organisations, researchers, practitioners and other stakeholders to discuss how scientific knowledge and innovation can better support resilient water management across Europe.
The discussions focused on one central question: How can scientific evidence be translated into effective policy and practical action? Participants explored the growing challenges facing Europe’s freshwater systems, including droughts, floods, water scarcity, ecosystem degradation and competing demands for water resources. The event highlighted the importance of strengthening the science-policy interface to support implementation of the European Water Resilience Strategy and other key EU water policies.
During the event, STARS4Water presented its stakeholder-driven tools, data services and decision-support solutions that have been co-developed with river basin organisations across Europe. These practical innovations demonstrate how Earth Observation, modelling and integrated data services can support adaptive, resilient and sustainable water management at river basin scale. Complementing this work, SOS-Water showcased its Safe Operating Space framework and advanced modelling approaches for identifying sustainable limits for water use under changing climatic and societal conditions.
The panel discussions emphasised several priorities for strengthening Europe’s water resilience, including:
- strengthening collaboration between researchers, policymakers and water managers;
- developing practical, user-oriented tools that address real management needs;
- improving communication between science and decision-makers; and
- ensuring that project results, data services and digital tools remain available and continue delivering value beyond the lifetime of individual research projects.
A key outcome of the event is the commitment by the two projects to jointly prepare a policy brief, bringing together the recommendations emerging from the discussions to support the implementation of Europe’s Water Resilience Strategy and future evidence-based water governance.
You can now watch the full recording of the event and hear directly from the speakers and panellists as they discuss the future of science-based water resilience in Europe.
Watch the recording here: https://youtu.be/PTgYONNNBXY
Read the Event full report
We thank all speakers, participants and organisers for contributing to this successful collaboration between STARS4Water and SOS-Water and look forward to continuing the dialogue on strengthening the role of science in shaping resilient water policies.
