Euractiv reports that Members of the European Parliament have supported the Commission's measures to achieve healthy EU soils by 2050 and have backed provisions requiring EU countries to monitor and assess the condition of all soils within their territories.

However, they have eliminated the obligations of member states to define and implement sustainable soil management practices.

Soil Monitoring Laws

The European Parliament (EP) has approved its position on the EU's first soil law in a plenary vote on Wednesday (April 10), removing some provisions agreed upon by environment MEPs.

MEPs supported the Commission's ambition to achieve healthy EU soils by 2050 and backed provisions requiring member states to monitor and assess the condition of all soils within their territories.

However, compared to the text approved by the Environment Committee, they have eliminated obligations to define and implement sustainable soil management practices.

The European Commission proposed the Soil Monitoring Law in July last year as part of the EU Soil Strategy, a plan to restore soil health and ensure they are protected and managed sustainably.

According to data from the Joint Research Centre, the Commission's research body, over 60% of EU soils are in an unhealthy state. The Parliament's position was adopted with 336 votes in favor, 242 against, and 33 abstentions.

"We are finally close to achieving a common European framework to protect our soils from degradation," said Martin Hosjsik, the liberal MEP leading the file in Parliament.

"The livelihoods of farmers and the food on our tables depend on this non-renewable resource. Therefore, it is our responsibility to adopt the first part of EU legislation to monitor and improve soil health," he added.

Weakened Provisions

The Parliament plenary has rolled back changes made to legislation approved by the Environment Committee (ENVI) on March 13, notably by removing a legally binding timeline for improving soil conditions and rejecting references to voluntary objectives for soil restoration.

Moreover, the EP weakened provisions obliging member states to apply soil indicators, stating that national authorities "may" apply those that "best illustrate" specific soil characteristics.

The adopted text proposes a five-tier classification to assess soil health - high, good, moderate, degraded, and critically degraded ecological status. Only soils falling into the first two categories will be considered healthy.

A soil is classified into one of the five categories based on its performance against proposed indicators, but yesterday's change in legislation opens the door for some indicators to become voluntary.

Caroline Henzel, Soil Policy Officer at the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), criticized the plenary for "undermining" the compromise adopted by the ENVI committee, warning that "it will be up to the Council" to improve the legislation.

"By rejecting essential obligations, a mandatory timeline, and requirements related to soil descriptors, Parliament risks removing any applicable measures to effectively improve soil health," Henzel said.

"This not only delays necessary actions but also jeopardizes ecosystem integrity, food security, and farmers' livelihoods," she added.

Farmers Praise Decision

Meanwhile, the European Young Farmers' Association (CEJA) praised the Parliament's vote for recognizing the threats posed by land take - which refers to the conversion of agricultural or natural land for urban or infrastructure development purposes.

The organization's head, Peter Meedendorp, said that while commitments could have been stronger, the soil monitoring law is a "first step in the right direction."

"Across Europe, we are witnessing a worrying trend of consuming or fragmenting fertile arable land through urbanization and land artificialization," he added.

"These developments can pose a harmful threat to soil health, compromising its ability to provide ecosystem services, as well as restricting access to land for aspiring young farmers," he stressed.

CEJA also praised the "graded" five-tier approach to soil health, noting that it may have an "encouraging effect" on land managers wishing to improve land management practices.

However, the organization fears that some elements of the legislation, such as the "tiered system approach" to assessing soil health, could burden national authorities and farmers.

In a similar note, Christiane Lambert, president of the influential European agricultural lobby COPA, praised the Parliament's position as a "more pragmatic and realistic version" of the text proposed by the European Commission.

EU environment ministers are expected to adopt a common position at a Council meeting on June 17, following Parliament elections.

Interinstitutional negotiations on the file could begin after the summer, with a new Parliament. (Photo: Dreamstime)