European Union lawmakers have reached an informal agreement to improve soil health across the bloc without imposing new burdens on farmers, marking a major step towards the EU’s ambition of achieving “zero pollution” by 2050.
Late on Wednesday, negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council struck a provisional political deal on the European Commission’s proposal for a soil monitoring law.
The agreement will oblige member states to monitor and assess soil health across their territories using common descriptors and a shared sampling methodology, while providing enhanced support to farmers and foresters.
The initiative comes amid mounting concern about the state of Europe’s soils. It is estimated that between 60 and 70 per cent of EU soils are in poor condition, a degradation fuelled by urbanisation, unsustainable farming practices, and climate change. The Commission warns that degraded soils are significant drivers of biodiversity loss and the climate crisis, with an estimated annual economic cost of at least €50 billion.
Under the terms of the new directive, national governments will be required to assess the physical, chemical, and biological health of soils using harmonised EU methods. However, in a nod to national sovereignty, countries will be permitted to build on existing national monitoring schemes or equivalent methodologies. The Commission’s LUCAS Soils programme will be expanded to provide tailored financial and technical assistance to member states.
To account for differing local conditions and levels of degradation, governments will set non-binding, sustainable targets for each soil descriptor. These targets are intended to steer gradual improvements in soil health rather than impose strict deadlines or penalties.
Crucially, the directive steers clear of placing fresh legal obligations on Europe’s farmers and foresters. Instead, it requires member states to offer support to land managers to bolster soil resilience—the soil’s ability to maintain its vital ecosystem functions in the face of stress. Assistance measures may include independent advice, training programmes, capacity building, and the promotion of research and innovation.
Farmers’ costs associated with improving soil health will be regularly assessed by national authorities to ensure they are not unduly burdened. The aim, according to MEP Martin Hojsík, the Parliament’s lead negotiator, is to ensure farmers are helped, not hindered.
“Today’s deal is an important milestone in improving support for farmers and all others in keeping the soil healthy,” Mr Hojsík said after the agreement was reached. “Providing them with better information and help, while preventing bureaucracy and new obligations, are cornerstones of the new soil monitoring law.”
Beyond support for farmers, the directive takes firm action on contaminated land. Within ten years of the directive’s entry into force, each member state will be required to compile a public register of potentially contaminated sites. Authorities must then address any unacceptable risks these sites pose to human health or the environment.
An additional safeguard will be the creation of a watch list of emerging substances that could threaten soil health. Eighteen months after the law is enacted, an indicative list will be published, covering chemicals such as PFAS—so-called “forever chemicals”—and certain pesticides, with the aim of closing data gaps and informing future regulation.
The legislative process is now entering its final stages. Following the “early second reading agreement” struck on Wednesday, the Council is expected to formally adopt the text, after which the European Parliament must endorse it in a second reading. The directive will enter into force 20 days after publication in the EU’s Official Journal, with member states given three years to comply.
The EU’s soil law marks another significant move by Brussels to tackle environmental degradation through careful stewardship of natural resources. It mirrors similar approaches taken in the bloc’s recent biodiversity and climate laws, balancing ambitious environmental goals with a pragmatic sensitivity to the concerns of Europe’s agricultural sector.
Still, the challenges ahead are considerable. Reversing decades of soil degradation will require concerted action at all levels of government and society, as well as genuine buy-in from farmers, foresters, and landowners. With agricultural stakeholders already stretched by shifting climate patterns, volatile markets, and new green rules, the success of the EU’s soil strategy will depend on its ability to deliver tangible benefits without adding to the regulatory burden.
In the words of Mr Hojsík, the new law offers a chance to move forward “not by coercion, but through cooperation.” Whether that vision can be realised across the EU’s 27 member states remains to be seen.
