The position adopted by the European Parliament this week on the proposed Soil Monitoring & Resilience Directive stripped the text of key tools to improve the condition of EU soils. The resulting first-reading position provides a decent basis for monitoring and assessing soil health, but we are disappointed that it fails to take the extra steps needed to trigger concrete change. 

In a Plenary vote on Wednesday, MEPs rejected amendments endorsed by the ENVI committee to lay down binding targets and deadlines to improve the status of unhealthy soils following the initial round of monitoring. In addition, they deleted any obligation for Member States to ensure land managers follow sustainable soil management principles, as outlined in the Commission proposal.

On the other hand, we welcome the recognition of the close link between healthy soils and clean water in the criteria for soil districts, as well as the priority given to drinking water abstraction areas for investigating potential contaminated sites. These are positive steps, although they fall far short of the ambition needed to restore soil health across the EU.

It now falls to the Council to raise the bar in its general approach before it enters into negotiations with the next Parliament after the upcoming elections.