Regions and cities in the European Union welcome that the EU Council has introduced more flexibility to the Soil Monitoring Law to adapt to local conditions but consider that the directive should build on multilevel action with more concrete objectives and progress assessments at intermediate and long-term. In its opinion adopted at the plenary session on 19 June, the European Committee of the Regions is also calling for more technical and financial support to improve soil health at local and regional levels.
Following the Soil Monitoring Law proposal from the European Commission, the Environment Council reached an agreement on Monday 17 June. With the European Parliament having adopted its position earlier in April, the directive is now subject to trilogue negotiations. The CoR opinion drafted by Frida Nilsson (SE/Renew Europe), member of Lidköping Municipal Council, points out the need to ensure an active participation of local and regional authorities in soil health improvement initiatives, considering widely differing conditions in terms of ecosystems, soil composition, natural background concentrations, differences in land use, population density and climatic conditions.
With up to 70% of the soils in EU territory being in unhealthy state, the CoR urges the European Commission to provide more technical and financial support to improve soil health at local and regional level, in close collaboration with the European Soil Mission. It asks from the European Commission to evaluate whether it would be necessary to include dedicated, adequate funding for soil health in the next multiannual EU budget.
Local and regional leaders stress that Member States should work together with them to establish operational percentage-based objectives for soil health in their territory for the years 2035 and 2050. Based on the intermediate objectives, the European Commission should take stock of the progress towards the 2050 objectives and propose a review of the directive if necessary.
Cities and regions consider that the soil districts, where the monitoring is set to take place, should be established and managed in close consultation with local and regional authorities, allowing the possibility of cross-border districts. The CoR suggests an assessment model that classifies soil health into four categories (healthy, moderate, poor or bad) and calls to apply the polluter pays principle to ensure that polluters make an appropriate financial contribution to the costs arising from damage to soil ecosystems.
Furthermore, the CoR encourages the Member States to introduce coherent soil protection measures in their national Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plans, as well as incentivise organic farming and other agroecological approaches. The European Commission should assess whether the national Strategic Plans ensure a high level of soil protection and promote actions to regenerate degraded agricultural soils. At the same time, regions and cities warn that limiting this ambition to EU territory alone could pose a serious risk to the European economy, if there is no level playing field in relation to products entering from third countries.
Quote:
Rapporteur Frida Nilsson (SE/Renew Europe), member of Lidköping Municipal Council: “Soil is fundamental for the survival of everything that surrounds us and our way of life. Thinking about and acting towards protecting those lands that are in good health – and helping those that are not – is not a luxury, it is a necessity. This is why we as representatives of European cities and regions decided today to take our role and responsibility seriously by sending a signal to the national governments and the European Commission that we are ready to act – our soils can and should be healthy by 2050."
More information:
Healthy soil is an essential basis for the European economy, for achieving climate neutrality and zero pollution, halting and reversing biodiversity loss, achieving food and water security and preserving public health. Currently up to 70% of soils across the EU are estimated to be in an unhealthy state, resulting in costs exceeding EUR 50 billion per year.
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, in 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. (EPRS briefing on Soil monitoring and resilience directive, May 2024).
The Nature Restoration Law, which was finally adopted by the EU Council this week, aims to restore at least 20% of the EU's land and 20% of sea areas by 2030, and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. It contains a number of provisions of direct relevance to soils (e.g. restoration measures for organic soils in agricultural use constituting drained peatlands).
Contact:
Lauri Ouvinen
Tel: +32 473 536 887
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