The co-legislators agreed on a common version of the Soil Monitoring Directive in the early hours of Wednesday 9 April, following a final trilogue meeting. The text, which will be subject to a vote in Parliament and in Council, sets the scene for the monitoring of soil health across the EU but stops far short of concrete commitments to improve European soils.

This follows from the disappointingly weak negotiating mandates adopted by the Parliament and Council last year. The trilogue compromise is yet to be published, but announcements made in the wake of the agreement indicated that EU-wide harmonisation will be kept to a minimum, with Member States largely free to define what counts as “healthy” soil. As expected, the text sets no binding targets for soil improvement.

We do welcome the creation of a watch list of soil pollutants, including PFAS and some pesticides, but regret that this will remain only indicative.

Even today, soil continues to degrade, with negative impacts on water resources. Healthy soils are also indispensable to sustainable agriculture and climate change adaptation, as they can protect against the worst effects of droughts and floods.