Successful Finnish Olympic swimmer and world champion: "Water is a crucially important element for me for the sake of training, good physical condition and health. Water is the basic prerequisite for life and, therefore, safe, clean water should be a basic right available to everyone."

EU-Commissioner for Regional Policy and Cohesion from 1995 to 1999: ”I fully support the aim of the campaign “right2water”. As the first European Citizens’ Initiative it is a positive example that shows: people want to be involved in European politics and to be proactive. This is very important to promote Europe and to foster direct democracy.” EU-Kommissarin für Regionalpolitik und Kohäsion 1995 bis 1999: „Das Bürgerbegehren „Menschenrecht auf Wasser“ hat ein wichtiges Ziel, das ich unterstütze. Als erste europäische Bürgerinitiative ist es zugleich ein positives Zeichen dafür, dass sich die Menschen in die europäische Politik einbringen und aktiv werden wollen. Dies ist ein wichtiger Schritt zu mehr Bürgernähe und zur Stärkung der Demokratie durch bürgerschaftliches Engagement.“

Coordinator Water Justice Network and Professor at Wageningen University, Netherlands: "Secure access to safe and sufficient water is fundamental for human beings and their social, natural and cultural living environments, but is increasingly threatened by powerful interests and agents who see it foremost as a commodity apt for profit-making business. Amidst water policies and practices that tend to be coloured by fundamentally unequal relations of power, the human right to water for all, and a fair and sustainable distribution of available water, are among the main issues and struggles of our time”

General Secretary FSC.CCOO Trade Union (Spain): "El agua es el recurso mayor en el planeta y el peor repartido. Mil cien millones de personas no acceden a ella".

Famous Czech Singer: "Every person has the right to have a free access to clean water and sanitation"

Vice-President Federatia Sanitas (Romania): "To be able to live and work, I drink public water"

Candidate Mayor of Paris

Finnish Arch Bishop: "Water is the source of life. Water is also the most crucial of all the necessities of life. By defending the right to water, we defend the right to life without conditions. Using water as a means of gaining profit violates against the sanctity of life created by God."

Member of CDA (Netherlands)

Chairman OSDLV (Czech Republic): "I want all people to have fair access to water at reasonable prices. I do not want any exorbitant sums to be paid for water after the privatization - as in the Czech Republic - where since the privatization prices has risen enormously due to the greed of multinational companies. All people should have the access to water and to meet their personal needs no matter what their income situation is." "Chci, aby všichni lidé m?li spravedlivý p?ístup k vod? za rozumné ceny. Nechci, aby se za vodu po privatizaci platili nehorázné sumy, jako tomu je v ?eské republice, kdy po privatizaci se neúm?rn? zvedli ceny ohledn? zisk? nadnárodních spole?ností. Všichni lidé by m?li mít šanci si koupit vodu a splnit si své osobní pot?eby bez ohledu na to, jaká je jejich situace.

Chairman of the Institute for the Danube region and Central Europe (IDM) in Vienna, Austria. "Water is life. The ecological situation for us will be more and more dependent on water. We have to do a lot to keep this condition of life available for everybody."

French writer

Directrice générale de l’intercommunale belge Vivaqua et Administratrice déléguée d’Aqua Publica Europea: «Au sein d’Aqua Publica Europea, association qui regroupe les principaux acteurs publics de l’eau européens, je me bats pour que l’eau, bien public, reste entre les mains du public. » Christiane Franck, directeur-generaal van de Belgische intercommunale Vivaqua en gedelegeerd bestuurder van Aqua Publica Europea, steunt de actie 'right2water'. "Binnen Aqua Publica Europea, de Europese vereniging van de openbare wateroperatoren, strijd ik ervoor dat het beheer van het water, als openbaar goed, in handen van de openbare sector blijft".

President GdG-KMSfB, Austria

Founding member of the Italian Forum of Water Movements and one of the promoters of the successful 2011 Italian referendum against the privatization of water utilities: "Firstly, this is a matter of civilization. Universal access to water and sanitation is a basic human right, recognised by the UN General Assembly: now we ask the EU to act in line with this position, embracing and implementing such a fundamental right. This means stopping and immediately reversing the privatization of water utilities and the resulting commodification of water itself. But this is also a matter of democracy: the people of Europe should decide, and not the Troika, which follows the destructive prescriptions of neoliberal economics and exploits the crisis to destroy social rights and to privatize common goods and public services. Two years ago, in a popular Referendum, 27 million Italians voted against the privatization of water utilities and of local public services. This overwhelming victory shows us clearly that there is no such thing as a pre-ordained destiny: if we have the will, if we are capable of organizing, then we can defeat neoliberal policies. That is why it is now so crucial to sign and support the ECI on water, as the ECI is the first tool - however weak - of direct democratic participation provided at the European level, which gives voice to the people on what type of Europe we want: a Union based on real democracy, universal rights, common goods and public services for all. As citizens we can sign the ECI and become “legislators”, because we have no intention of letting the financial markets and the economic powers decide what our future should be"