After the Council earlier last month, the European Parliament reunited in plenary finally adopted this Thursday the compromise agreement on a Soil Monitoring Directive, marking the end of the legislative process. The MEPs rejected the amendments rejecting the Council’s position with 341 votes against, 220 in favour and 10 abstentions, thus closing the second reading at the Parliament, leading to the adoption of the law. The definitive version of this legislation, agreed upon during the last round of trilogues in April 2025, requires Member States to monitor and assess soil health across their territories using common soil descriptors and an EU methodology for sampling points, and invites Member States to introduce non-binding targets, in line with the overall objective of achieving healthy soils by 2050 and maintaining them in optimal condition thereafter.
Farm Europe welcomes the adoption of this directive. Soils health is crucial for the sustainability and viability of the European agricultural sector, and the capacity of farmers to have better monitoring tools with more robust and uniform methodologies. This new directive requires EU countries to help farmers improve soil health and soil resilience. Support measures may include independent advice, training activities, and capacity building, as well as the promotion of research and innovation, and measures to raise awareness of the benefits of soil resilience. Member states will also have to assess regularly the financial cost to farmers and foresters’ of improving soil health and soil resilience.
The decision of the two co-legislators to push for the inclusion of microplastics and nanoplastics in the monitoring of soil contaminants is also an important step, as these substances represent a rising threat to agricultural soils health and fertility, jeopardising the correct development of crops and the EU agricultural production in the long term. We are therefore looking forward to the publication of the indicative list of soil contaminants to be presented 18 months after the law enters into force and vocally exhort Member States and the European Commission to include micro- and nanoplastics in it.
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O artigo foi publicado originalmente em Farm Europe.
Soil monitoring: Parliament adopts new EU law with better support for farmers
