Luxembourg environment minister Carole Dieschbourg (déi Gréng) called the convention “a good example of European cooperation protecting both people and the environment”, adding that given that the Haute-Sûre Lake was the main source of the grand duchy’s drinking water that it was “only natural to collaborate with neighbours to protect this resource together”. 

The agreement sets out general guidelines when it comes to the protection of drinking water as well as sewage treatment, including related construction and maintenance costs for the treatment plant in Martelange, Belgium. 

Better information exchange and coordination when it comes to manure production and application, e.g., across cross-border farms, is further set out in the agreement. Nitrates are specifically addressed, its agricultural use through fertilisers having been cited by the European Commission as a “major source of water pollution in Europe”.