The policy debate held by the EU environment ministers on Monday 18 December on the proposal for a directive on soil monitoring and soil resilience showed that the Member States support the general objective, but at the same time demand that specific local circumstances be taken into account, while fully respecting subsidiarity.
This proposal was presented in July as a step towards promoting healthy soils by 2050 and filling a gap in EU environmental legislation (see EUROPE 13216/4).
Spain's Minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, said that work had progressed well at a technical level and that she would be presenting a summary of the discussions “in the next few days” to hand over to the Belgian Presidency, which begins in January.
All the ministers recognised the importance of healthy soil for food security, climate neutrality and biodiversity, and the importance of combating pollution and restoring this resource, which is subject to multiple pressures.
According to the Belgian Minister for the Brussels Capital Region, Alain Maron, “Belgium has long experience of a risk-based approach to soil pollution”. He said he was delighted to be able to work on this issue.
Summing up the main points of the discussion, he emphasised that there was broad support for a number of positive aspects, in particular the integrated vision of soil quality based on usage.
However, a number of concerns remain, which are shared by certain delegations, such as the administrative and financial burden, compatibility with existing monitoring systems, the timeframes for implementation and management of historic pollution, the timeframes for implementation, and the management of historic pollution over which farmers have no control.
Regarding the creation of a non-toxic environment by 2050, “a preventive approach is absolutely necessary. This falls outside the scope of this proposed directive, but in the long term, the responsibility of producers of substances of very high concern must be carefully examined”, stressed the Belgian minister.
He also highlighted the need for a combined approach to the management of excavated soil in both EU waste and soil legislation.
Furthermore, “it is important for the single market that there is specific harmonisation relating to contaminants of very high concern in soils”, he added.
The future Belgian Presidency hopes to be able to reach a “general approach” for the EU Council in June, said the Belgian minister, while saying he was “aware of the complexity of the issue”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)