With a 15-year-old soil protection strategy that has failed to prevent further degradation of a resource essential to life, it is time for the EU to establish a legislative framework for soil protection, stressed MEPs on the European Parliament’s environment committee on Wednesday 24 February.
The debate on a draft resolution on this subject showed a broad consensus among the political groups on this need, even if sensitivities differ on the modalities of this future framework.
The text calls for this European framework. It makes the link between soil degradation and other environmental challenges, such as the climate crisis, the biodiversity crisis, and key issues such as sustainable agriculture and food systems.
On behalf of the EPP, Pernille Weiss of Denmark pointed out that 95% of food comes from the soil, and that the EU has failed to adopt the right legislation to protect it, costing it €50 billion a year.
“The next European framework must respect the principle of 100% subsidiarity. If the Commission proposes something too ambitious, the EU Council and Parliament will not be able to accept it”, she warned.
For Maria Arena (S&D, Belgium), the urgent priorities are to integrate soil protection into all policies, to decontaminate soil, and to tackle the problems of soil artificialisation and the decline in organic matter.
Martin Hojsík (Renew Europe, Slovakia) said: “I hope this is the beginning of along-term cooperation and that it will be systemic protection. We need to understand that soils are a common resource”.
Alexandr Vondra (ECR, Czech Republic) was cautious. “We don’t have enough data to make concrete legislative proposals. The requirements of proportionality and subsidiarity must be respected”, he said, fearing legislation that does not take account of the different types of soil.
“There is no European framework for soil protection. Yet it is as important for our survival as air and water, which is why a common regulatory framework is the best approach”, argued Manuela Ripa (Greens/EFA, Germany). She advocates quantifiable objectives, agricultural production adapted to the climate (favouring set-aside for a 50% reduction in daily land use), and citizen participation in land planning.
Idoia Villanueva Ruiz (The Left, Spain) hailed it as “a very good starting text“.
The European Commission considered that knowledge and awareness of the climate and biodiversity crises had increased since 2007, when a directive was proposed that remained in limbo.
The institution will take into account the lessons learned in the initiative it will propose in the summer of 2021, with a binding instrument (see EUROPE 12649/12). Welcoming the draft resolution, it emphasised one aspect: European funding that will help soil users to protect this resource. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)