The Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the Soil Monitoring Directive on the night of 9-10 April.
The aim of the text is to achieve healthy soil in the European Union by 2050. An ambitious target, but not a binding one. To achieve this, the directive establishes a soil monitoring framework that includes the management of risks associated with contaminated sites in the EU. A public list of these will be drawn up ten years after the text comes into force.
Monitoring will be carried out on the basis of common physical, chemical or biological soil condition criteria for each soil type. The sampling points will also be subject to a common methodology.
Member States will be able to define sustainable soil management objectives. The European Parliament opposed these targets because it did not want to put further pressure on farmers (see EUROPE 13545/7). Finally, these objectives will not be binding, insofar as the identification and implementation of these practices will not be compulsory.
Another sticking point for Parliament, which did not want binding measures, was that the artificialisation of land will be subject to mitigation principles (on sealing and excavation).
Parliament stressed that the provisional agreement does not impose any new obligations on farmers. The reaction of its rapporteur, Martin Hojsík (Renew Europe, Slovakian), says a lot about what was a priority for him. According to him, the agreement will above all “improve support for farmers and all other stakeholders, with a view to preserving soil quality”.
These support measures may take the form of independent advice, training, capacity-building or raising awareness of the benefits of soil resilience. Member States will, for example, have to “regularly assess” the financial needs of farmers and foresters, explained the Parliament.
In comparison, on behalf of the Council of the European Union, Poland's Minister for Climate and Environment, Pauline Hennig-Kloska, pointed out that “60% of Europe's soil is in poor condition and deteriorating”, while insisting that “healthy and resilient soils are essential to ensure safe and nutritious food and cleaner water for future generations”.
Several environmental NGOs, including PAN Europe and the EEB, said the agreement fell "far short of what is urgently needed ". According to EEB's Caroline Heinzel, "Europe's first-ever soil law will only serve to monitor ongoing soil degradation rather than reverse it, which is an alarming conclusion for farmers, nature and the climate".
The Council and Parliament still have to formally adopt the agreement at first and second reading respectively. (Original version in French by Florent Servia)