Freeing Europe’s rivers addressing legal bottlenecks in the removal of barriers on rivers in EU Member States

The report examines the legal and administrative challenges of removing obsolete river barriers in Poland, Finland, and France. It finds that while France employs a systemic approach with prioritised lists and dedicated funding, Poland lacks a comprehensive registry and effective enforcement of removal obligations. Finland relies heavily on voluntary cooperation and funding through the NOUSU program but struggles with the permanence of water permits. The document recommends that Member States adopt systemic policies, maintain field-verified barrier registries, establish clear prioritisation criteria for 'obsolete barriers', and create inclusive funding schemes to meet EU nature restoration targets.

• European rivers are highly fragmented, with an estimated 1.2 million barriers (approximately 0.74 per kilometre), of which over 100,000 are considered abandoned or obsolete.
• The Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR) mandates that EU Member States inventory artificial barriers, identify those for removal to achieve 25,000 km of free-flowing rivers, and prioritise the removal of obsolete barriers.
• Poland's approach to barrier removal is non-systemic; between 2020 and 2024, only 10 barriers were removed, and the state lacks a comprehensive, field-verified registry of existing barriers.
• In Poland, legal provisions to order the removal of structures upon the expiry of water permits are rarely enforced in practice, and there is a legislative loophole regarding barriers with unknown ownership.
• Finland's barrier removal is primarily driven by voluntarism and the NOUSU program, which provides leverage funding for projects improving migratory fish stocks, including the removal of 10 small hydropower plants.
• A significant legal bottleneck in Finland is the permanence of water permits, which are often granted for an unlimited duration, making it difficult to coercively decommission operating facilities.
• France is the only analysed country with a systemic approach, using a classification system (List 1 for preservation and List 2 for restoration) and a national reference system for flow obstacles (ROE).
• France provides substantial funding for barrier removal through water agencies, which can cover up to 80% of total expenses for projects restoring ecological continuity.
• French law contains a specific exemption for water mills, preventing authorities from ordering their removal to restore ecological continuity, a provision the Conseil d’Etat found incompatible with the Water Framework Directive.
• The report recommends that Member States establish a legal definition of 'obsolete barriers' based on the loss of original significance, such as lack of economic profitability or the expiration of original permits.

APA

Włoskowicz, M., Puharinen, S.-T., & Robert, C. (2026). Freeing Europe’s rivers addressing legal bottlenecks in the removal of barriers on rivers in EU Member States. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/5cfcdhtd/raport_ang_free_flowing_rivers_final.pdf

Chicago

Włoskowicz, Maria, Suvi-Tuuli Puharinen, and Coline Robert. Freeing Europe’s rivers addressing legal bottlenecks in the removal of barriers on rivers in EU Member States. ClientEarth, 2026. https://www.clientearth.org/media/5cfcdhtd/raport_ang_free_flowing_rivers_final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Włoskowicz |first1=Maria |last2=Puharinen |first2=Suvi-Tuuli |last3=Robert |first3=Coline |title=Freeing Europe’s rivers addressing legal bottlenecks in the removal of barriers on rivers in EU Member States |publisher=ClientEarth |date=June 2026 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/5cfcdhtd/raport_ang_free_flowing_rivers_final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{woskowicz2026freeing, author = {Włoskowicz, Maria and Puharinen, Suvi-Tuuli and Robert, Coline}, title = {{Freeing Europe’s rivers addressing legal bottlenecks in the removal of barriers on rivers in EU Member States}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2026}, month = jun, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/5cfcdhtd/raport_ang_free_flowing_rivers_final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }