The OECD and the European Commission are co-convening the 11th Roundtable on Financing Water: regional meeting on the EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries on 30 and 31 May 2024, in Brussels, in partnership with the government of the Netherlands, the World Water Council and the World Bank.  

The 11th meeting of the Roundtable on Financing Water focuses on the EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine. It sheds light on needs and opportunities to accelerate investments into water in line with EaPpriorities. Environmental and climate resilience and promoting fair and inclusive societies are among the key objectives of the EaP's post-2020 agenda, which includes specific targets related to improving air and water quality, and are part of the European Union’s Global Gateway Initiative, which aims to mobilise up to EUR 300 billion in investments. The far-reaching Economic and Investment Plan for Eastern Partnerships underpins this agenda, which aims to mobilise EUR 17 billion in investments by 2027. The meeting covers water supply and sanitation, water resources management, and water-risk management, as well as adaptation to climate change.

A wide variety of actors from the water and finance communities will be present to incentivise efficient water-related investment in EaP countries. This meeting will bring together leaders and representatives from governments (in particular from the EU and EU Member States), public and private investors, financial institutions, development banks, water utilities, regulators, international organisations, commercial banks, and others. It provides countries with an opportunity to highlight policy reforms undertaken at the national level, which have facilitated investments for water security and identify remaining priorities. 

• Highlights of the review of the enabling environment for investment in water security in EaP countries 
• Analysis on the reform of instruments to mobilise domestic finance for water in the EaP countries 
• Assessment of the financing gap and available finance from International Financial Institutions and bilateral donors to fund improvements in water security in EaP countries and transboundary basin 
• Analysis of cost-effective Nature-based Solutions in the water sector in EaP countries 

• OECD (2020), Financing Water Supply, Sanitation and Flood Protection: Challenges in EU Member States and Policy Options, OECD Studies on Water, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/6893cdac-en.