After two years of preparatory work the Commission presented its first proposal for a list of 32 priority substances in the field of water policy on 7 February 2000 (see Annex). With support from the European Parliament, the Commission, just before the agreement on the Water Framework Directive, decided to introduce a higher ambition: the phasing-out of certain hazardous substances that can be considered as the "tip of the iceberg".
Juste avant la conclusion de l'accord sur la directive-cadre dans le domaine de l'eau, la Commission a décidé, avec le soutien du Parlement européen, de fixer un objectif plus ambitieux: l'élimination progressive de certaines substances dangereuses qui peuvent être considérées comme la "partie visible de l'iceberg".