161st CoR Plenary Session (19 - 20 June 2024)

Highly diverse, soils host more than 25 % of all biodiversity and are the second largest carbon pool on the planet. During its first April 2024 session, the European Parliament is expected to adopt its position at first reading on a European Commission proposal aimed at establishing the first-ever EU-wide common framework on soils.

Currently, there is no EU-wide legislation specifically on soil, although many policy instruments relevant to soil protection are in place. Under the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, part of the European Green Deal, the European Commission presented a new EU soil strategy for 2030, with the aim of having all EU soil ecosystems in a healthy condition by 2050. To achieve this objective, on 5 July 2023 it tabled a proposal for a soil monitoring and resilience directive, laying down measures for monitoring and assessing soil health, based on a common definition of what constitutes healthy soil, for managing soils sustainably, and for tackling contaminated sites. While stakeholders agree on the need for a soil monitoring framework, concerns have been raised about the indicators chosen to describe and assess soil health, provisions on land take, the lack of a roadmap, plans and intermediate targets to achieve the overarching 2050 objective, application of the polluter pays principle, and funding available to support land owners and managers.

The IA examines the problem's nature and scale comprehensively. However, the lack of representative data causes uncertainty regarding the scale of the problem at EU level (range of 60-70 % of unhealthy soils in the EU). The IA offers a broad and realistic range of policy options and consistently presents the stakeholders' views on the problems, their drivers, the objectives and the options. It provides a comprehensive description of the options and a detailed qualitative and quantitative analysis of their economic, social, environmental and territorial impacts and risks of implementation. It is transparent about the limitations of the available data and the uncertainties. Regarding SMEs, an SME test was carried out, but it appears that no targeted SME consultation was conducted. The IA considers that the preferred option creates economic opportunities for SMEs, e.g. to remediate contaminated sites, provide advisory services for soil health, soil testing laboratories and (voluntary) certification of soil health.