Picture of mycelium, vegetative part of mushrooms in soils, crucial for water, nutrient and foundational molecules (N, P, C, K, etc.) transport
After months of negotiations the European Parliament sealed the deal of Europe’s first ever law on soils. Despite some severe shortcomings of the endorsed text, this is an important milestone towards addressing Europe’s crisis of soil degradation.
The Soil Monitoring Law establishes a (non-binding) objective to achieve healthy soils by 2050 and introduces a common definition of soil health. It also requires Member States to
- put in place a soil health monitoring system on the basis of a set of common indicators, and report soil health data;
- better support farmers through advice, capacity building, training and by promoting the benefits of sustainable soil management, and research;
- consider a set of principles to reduce soil sealing and soil removal in case of land take;
- identify, assess and manage all their contaminated sites.
The law will be published in the Official Journal of the EU in November 2025 and enter into force 20 days thereafter. Member States will have 3 years to transpose it into national law.
The adoption of this law is a milestone, but the real work starts now. Its success depends on a thorough implementation and rigorous enforcement.
See the EEB press release for further details, check out our LinkedIn post and Politico’s “How to pass a green law in an anti-green age in 6 “easy” steps“.
