BRUSSELS - European Union member states are falling behind a 2015 clean water target, the union's environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said on Thursday. "Only 43 percent of groundwater and 28 percent of surface water now meet, or are likely to meet, the quality targets by 2015, and this is not acceptable," Dimas told a news conference on the United Nations' "World Water Day."

EU legislation aims to achieve good water quality for all rivers, lakes, estuaries, coastal waters and groundwater in the bloc by 2015.
"I urge the member states to do more to properly implement all directives on water, there is no time to waste," he said.
Austria and Cyprus were top of the list, Germany and Portugal were doing well, while Italy and Greece were far from achieving the targets, he said.