Press Release: World Water Day: EU agrees to set up new Water Facility to boost access to clean water and sanitation

The European Union agreed on 22 March 2004 World Water Day to set up a special Water Facility to promote access to clean water and sanitation for people in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. The facility, originally proposed by President Prodi in 2003, could in a first phase be worth up to €500 million and is designed to have an important catalytic effect in generating additional funds for water and sanitation.