Ukraine does not have drinking water in accordance with EU standards - Ministry of Health

One of the requirements of the European Union for Ukraine to fulfill in order to join the EU is to set drinking water standards. That is, Ukrainian standards must be in line with the European ones. But if the Ukrainian government recognizes these standards, it will turn out that there is no drinking water in Ukrainian water supply networks at all.

This was stated by Deputy Minister of Health Maryna Slobodnichenko. This official was a member of Ukraine's delegation to participate in negotiations with the European Union on joining the bloc.

"One of the most difficult issues is drinking water. That is, what quality drinking water should be in Ukraine. The EU requires us to write this down in the law to regulate compliance with certain drinking water standards," said the Health Ministry official.

But, according to Ms. Slobodnichenko, if Ukraine agrees to implement these standards now, the water from water supply networks across the country will be considered technical water, not drinking water.

The EU does not require Ukraine to improve water quality. There are countries in Europe where only technical water is supplied in the networks, and even worse quality than in Ukraine. The EU only wants Ukraine to clearly recognize which water is potable and which is not. But then it will turn out that Ukrainians are overpaying for water.

"If a consumer uses industrial water, they should pay less for it. Water tariffs will fall, which means there will be budget revenues," the Health Ministry official explained the problem.

Slobodnichenko called it "a big issue of more than one year".

As OBOZ.UA reported earlier, the city of Tavriysk on the left bank of the temporarily occupied Kherson region has been left without drinking water. Local residents have dirty industrial water flowing from their taps, which cannot be used for cooking or drinking.

And this is not an isolated case. Earlier, the Russian occupiers cut off water supply in the temporarily occupied Donetsk and Makiivka, allegedly due to scheduled works. Since then, residents have been receiving water only for a few hours every two days.

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