Originally launched as a specialist association focused on domestic and small-scale commercial water treatment some 30 years ago, AE was re-launched in May 2005 as a confederation of trade associations representing the interests of the water and wastewater supply chain at the EU level. It is an International Association under Belgian law, with a Board of Directors made up of one representative per AE member country. The Board meets three times a year to discuss policy developments affecting the industry and agree the broad strategic approach of the association towards these issues. The Board is supported by a small Executive Committee (“Exco”) under the President, meeting eight times a year currently, which supervises strategy implementation and provides oversight of the day-to-day management of the association. The organisation operates through a series of Task Groups, dedicated to monitoring key developments in the European water and wastewater industry and reporting back regularly to the membership through the Exco. Secretariat and management services are at present provided by British Water and an electronic newsletter provides a regular overview of areas under scrutiny.

The association is represented on a number of expert/stakeholder groups operated by the European Commission, including for example, the CPDW Expert Group and the Drinking Water Directive Revision Stakeholder Consultation Group.

New regulations from the European Commission, as well as domestic regulations at the level of EU member states, are routinely scrutinised and, where appropriate, steps taken when barriers to trade threaten. Technical standards, too, can impair the functioning of the Single Market and so AE plays an active part in CEN Technical Committees and Working Groups to support the development of standards that are compatible with consumer protection without jeopardising the viability of the industry or a part of it.