Changes from plenary report to plenary report

RemovedRecital 18: (18) It is vital to set appropriate measures for Union-wide harmonised monitoring and assessment of soil health, managing soils sustainably and tackling contaminated sites to achieve healthy soils by 2050, to maintain them in healthy condition and meet the Union’s objectives on climate and biodiversity, to prevent and respond to droughts and natural disasters, to protect human health and to ensure food security and safety.

RemovedRecital 19: (19) Soils host more than 25% of all biodiversity and are the second largest carbon pool of the planet. Due to their ability to capture and store carbon, healthy soils contribute to the achievement of the Union’s objectives on climate change. Soil biodiversity encompasses micro-organisms, including bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes, as well as larger organisms such as earthworms, insects, and plant roots, which collectively contribute to the ecological and functional diversity of soil ecosystems. Healthy soils also provide a favourable habitat for organisms to thrive and are crucial for enhancing biodiversity and the stability of ecosystems. Biodiversity below and above ground are intimately connected and interact through mutualistic relationships (e.g. mycorrhizal fungi that connect plant roots).

RemovedRecital 19 a (new): (19a) Soil organic matter is crucial for the provision of soil ecosystem services and functions, by reducing soil degradation, erosion and compaction, while increasing the buffering, water holding and cation exchange capacity of the soil and soil organic carbon, which ultimately could increase crop yields. Additionally, soil organic matter positively affects soil biodiversity and could increase the carbon sequestered in soils, thereby contributing to climate change mitigation.

RemovedRecital 21 a (new): (21a) Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been frequently observed to contaminate groundwater, surface water as well as soil. They can alter soil properties and structures, with some of the reported effects including a decrease in soil respiration and water stable aggregates, and an increase in soil pH.

RemovedRecital 22: (22) Soil degradation impacts fertility, yields, pest resistance and nutritional food quality. Since 95 % of our food is directly or indirectly produced on soils and the global population continues to increase, it is key that this finite natural resource remains healthy to ensure food security in the long-term and secure the productivity and profitability of Union agriculture. Sustainable soil management practices, including those set out by the common agricultural policy, maintain or enhance soil health and contribute to the sustainability and resilience of the food system. Reducing nutrient losses and pesticide residues are essential in this respect.

RemovedRecital 23: (23) The long-term objective of the Directive is to achieve healthy soils across the Union by 2050. As an intermediate step, in light of the limited knowledge about the condition of soils and about the effectiveness and costs of the measures to regenerate their health, the directive takes a staged approach. In the first stage the focus will be on setting up the soil monitoring framework and assessing the situation of soils throughout the EU. Member States should define sustainable soil management practices taking into account the non-binding principles set in Annex III to this Directive. The Member States are given the flexibility to decide on the concrete practices to be implemented, when appropriate, reflecting local conditions and its feasibility, in order to faciliate achieving healthy soils by 2050. This proportionate approach will allow sustainable soil management and regeneration of soils that are not healthy to be well prepared, incentivised and set in motion. In a second stage, as soon as the results of the first assessment of soils and trends analysis are available, the Commission will take stock of the progress towards the 2050 objective and the experience thereof, and will propose a review of the directive if necessary to meet the 2050 goal.

RemovedRecital 24: (24) Addressing the pressures on soils and identifying the appropriate measures to maintain or regenerate soil health requires that the variety of soil types, the specific local and climatic conditions and the land use or the land cover is taken into account. It is therefore appropriate that Member States establish soil districts that are capable of adequately reflecting pedoclimatic conditions and soil variety on their whole territory. Soil districts should constitute the basic governance units to manage soils and to take measures to comply with the requirements laid down in this Directive, in particular with regard to the monitoring and assessment of soil health. There should be a minimum number of soil districts in each Member State taking into account the size of the Member State. This minimum number of soil districts for each Member State shall correspond to the number of NUTS 1 territorial units established in Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council48..Member States can decide to set up their soil districts according to their number of NUTS 2 territorial units in order to bettter reflect their local conditions and the competences of their national authorities. / (deleted)

RemovedRecital 24 a (new): (24a) Soil districts are the most appropriate level for adopting programmes of measures and, where necessary, intermediate targets, including via local soil district plans, taking into account local conditions and the views of local stakeholders, to ensure that the respective soils improve their classification. As it takes more time to restore critically degraded soils, a sufficient timeline of up to 10 years should be given to ensure that their ecological classification improves. Soils registered as contaminated that are covered by specific management and mitigation plans could be subject to a different timeline.

RemovedRecital 25: (25) In order to ensure an appropriate governance on soils, Member States should be required to appoint a competent authority for each soil district. Member States should be allowed to appoint any additional competent authority at appropriate level including at national or regional level, including across territories of Member States. In order to minimise costs, Member States should primarily appoint authorities that are already set up. One authority could be responsible for several areas, which could improve consistency in the implementation of this Directive. In the event that Member States change the allocation of competences among competent authorities, they should communicate those changes to the Commission to keep the information up to date.

RemovedRecital 27: (27) In order to provide for a common framework and to allow for comparability of data, the Commission should by means of delegated acts, adopt a methodology for determining threshold values for soil descriptors for each soil ecological status. It is important that this methodology take into account the most recent scientific evidence and provide for means to account for different climatic conditions and types of soil. Using this methodology Member States should identify draft threshold values for soil descriptors for each soil ecological status taking into consideration climate conditions, the type of soil, type of land area and scientific evidence and submit them to the Commission. In order to ensure a level playing field among Member States and to avoid Member States adopting threshold values which allow similar soil to be categorised in a very different manner, thereby affecting the efforts required to improve its soil ecological status, the Commission should assess the draft threshold values and their scientific justification. The Commission should be able to ask Member States for additional information or revision of their draft threshold values. The Commission should approve the threshold values, provided that its observations have been adequately taken into account.

RemovedRecital 27 a (new): (27a) An integrated view on the assessment of soil health that goes beyond solely looking at degradation factors and provides a clear path for its improvement is necessary. The overall assessment of soil ecological status should, therefore, be categorised according to five classes from "high soil ecological status”, “good ecological status”, “moderate”, “degraded soils” to “critically degraded soils”, taking into consideration, inter alia, the presence of degradation factors and soil functions.

RemovedRecital 27 b (new): (27b) To respect the autonomy of the Member States that are willing to implement more comprehensive monitoring systems, Member States should be able to choose among 3 monitoring tiers. Tier 1 provides a minimum set of soil descriptors. In Tier 2, 20% of the sampling points are determined according to the LUCAS programme and double sampled for continuous monitoring and the establishment of transfer functions, while the remaining 80% of the sampling points are determined by the Member State, also for continuous monitoring and following the criteria set in the annexes to this Directive. In Tiers 1 and 2, 20% of sampling points are dedicated to targeted monitoring, allowing Member States to expand risk-based assessments, conduct investigations, or target areas of particular interest. The establishment of a tiered approach increases the number of soil descriptors assessed but also the level of autonomy that Member States have in determining the thresholds associated to the ecological status of soils. The main goal of such a tiered approach is to allow all Member States to implement their monitoring systems and take advantage of any current national systems that already monitor soils. Tier 2 will allow gaps to be filled in the scope and extent of the soil descriptors considered. In Tier 3, the number of soil descriptors is expanded further to refine particular aspects of the soil monitoring systems.

RemovedRecital 28: deleted / (deleted)

RemovedRecital 30: (30) Soil is a limited resource subject to an ever-growing competition for different uses. Land take is a process often driven by economic development needs, that transforms natural and semi-natural areas (including agricultural and forestry land, gardens and parks) into artificial land development, using soil as a platform for constructions and infrastructure, as a direct source of raw material or as archive for historic patrimony. This transformation may cause the loss, often irreversibly, of the capacity of soils to provide other ecosystem services (provision of food and biomass, water and nutrients cycling, basis for biodiversity and carbon storage). In particular, land take often affects the most fertile agricultural soils, putting food security in jeopardy. Sealed soil also exposes human settlements to higher flood peaks and more intense heat island effects. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor land take and soil sealing and their effects on soil’s capacity to provide ecosystem services. It is also appropriate to lay down certain principles to mitigate the impacts of land take complementing sustainable soil management.

RemovedRecital 31: (31) The assessment of soil health based on the monitoring network should be accurate while at the same time keeping the costs of such monitoring at reasonable level. It is therefore appropriate to lay down criteria for sampling points that are representative of the soil condition under different soil types, climatic conditions and land use. The grid of sampling points should be determined by using geostatistical methods and be sufficiently dense to provide an estimation of the area of healthy soils, at national level, within an uncertainty of not more than 5%. This value is commonly considered to provide a statistically sound estimation and reasonable assurance that the objective has been achieved. It is important that the soil monitoring methodology and framework include harmonised sampling criteria, including sampling depth.

RemovedRecital 31 a (new): (31a) Soil archives preserve a snapshot of soils from a specific time and location, allowing Member States to use one sample for various purposes and to streamline field sampling activities, thus reducing the long-term costs of in-situ monitoring. In addition, soil archives enable researchers to re-evaluate soils of the past in the context of the present for an improved understanding of long-term soil change, or for other research purposes, including medical research. It is therefore imperative that the Commission, including services such as the Joint Research Centre (JRC), together with the Member States and the European Soil Observatory, ensure that the samples, DNA extracts and raw data taken for the compliance with Union and national environmental law are well preserved in physical archives and that the samples and raw data of those archives remain available for further research and innovation.

RemovedRecital 32: (32) As a complement to existing national inventories, the Commission should assist and support Member States’ monitoring of soil health by continuing to carry out and enhancing regular in-situ soil sampling and related soil measurements (LUCAS soil) as part of the Land Use/Cover Area frame statistical Survey (LUCAS) Programme. For that purpose, the LUCAS Programme should be enhanced and upgraded to fully align it with the specific quality requirements and all the descriptors to be met for the purpose of this Directive. In order to alleviate the burden, Member States should be allowed to take into account the soil health data surveyed under the enhanced LUCAS soil. LUCAS soil will sample and analyse at least 20 % of the size of national samples, thereby contributing to the monitoring carried out by Member States. The analysis by LUCAS is essential to allowing Member States to calculate and calibrate valid transfer functions in order to allow them to continue using alternative monitoring design in accordance with Tier 2. The Commission should at the request of a Member State provide further assistance with up to 50% of the sampling during the first national monitoring round. The Member States thus supported should take the necessary legal arrangements to ensure that the Commission can carry out such in-situ soil sampling, including on privately owned fields, with the agreement of the owners, and in compliance with applicable national or Union legislation.

RemovedRecital 33: (33) The Commission is developing remote sensing services in the context of Copernicus as a user-driven programme, hereby also supporting Member States. In order to increase the timeliness and effectiveness of soil health monitoring, and where relevant, Member States should use remote sensing data including outputs from the Copernicus services for monitoring relevant soil descriptors and for assessing soil health. The Commission and the European Environment Agency should support exploring and developing soil remote sensing products, to assist the Member States in monitoring the relevant soil descriptors. The Commission and Member States should further support the use of reliable and available digital technologies, such as electronic databases, geographic information systems, automated image identification or e-DNA, to improve knowledge sharing and transparency with regard to soil health and to reduce the costs of soil measurements and monitoring.

RemovedRecital 34: (34) Building on and upgrading the existing EU soil observatory, the Commission should establish a digital soil health data portal that should be compatible with the EU Data Strategy50 and the EU data spaces and which should be a hub providing access to soil data coming from various sources. The soil health data should be made publicly available in a format that can be used by the research community, landowners and managers, advisors working within the farm advisory system and the public, ensuring compliance with Union law on the protection of personal data. That portal should primarily include relevant data collected by the Member States and the Commission as required by this Directive and serve as a platform for the establishment of a Sustainable Soil Management Toolbox that will provide up-to-date context-specific information about sustainable soil management practices based on different soil type, land use and climatic conditions. It should also be possible to integrate in the portal, on a voluntary basis, other relevant soil data collected by Member States or any other party (and in particular data resulting from projects under Horizon Europe and the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’), provided that those data meet certain requirements as regards format and specifications. Those requirements should be specified by the Commission by way of implementing acts. Member States and the Commission should ensure that research institutions have easy and free access to all data at t…

RemovedRecital 35: (35) It is also necessary to improve the harmonization of soil monitoring systems used in the Member States and exploit the synergies between Union and national monitoring systems and make full use of already existing harmonised monitoring tools such as LUCAS in order to have more comparable data across the Union. Moreover, harmonisation of monitoring systems in Member States would help to scale up investments in advanced soil monitoring techniques and technologies.

RemovedRecital 36: deleted

RemovedRecital 37: (37) To maintain or enhance soil health, soils need to be managed sustainably. Sustainable soil management will enable the long-term provision of soil services, including improved air and water quality and food security. It is therefore appropriate to lay down non-binding sustainable soil management principles to guide soil management practices.

RemovedRecital 38: (38) Economic instruments, including those under the common agricultural policy (CAP) that provide support to farmers, have a crucial role in the transition to the sustainable management of agricultural soils and, to a lesser extent, forest soils. The CAP aims to support soil health through the implementation of conditionality, eco-schemes and rural development measures. Financial support for farmers and foresters who apply sustainable soil management practices can also be generated by the private sector. Voluntary sustainability labels in the food, wood, bio-based, and energy industry, for example, established by private stakeholders, can take into account the contributions to improve soil health in accordance with this Directive. This can enable food, wood, and other biomass producers that follow those principles in their production to reflect these in the value of their products. Additional funding for a network of real-life sites for testing, demonstrating and upscaling of solutions, including on carbon farming, will be provided through the Soil Mission’s living labs and lighthouses. Without prejudice to the polluter pays principle, support and advice should be provided by Member States to help landowners and land users affected by action taken under this Directive taking into account, in particular, the needs and limited capacities of small and medium sized enterprises.

RemovedRecital 39 a (new): (39a) Good agricultural and environmental conditions (GAECs) 5, 6 and 7 as set out in Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 include standards to improve tillage management to reduce the risk of soil degradation and erosion, including by consideration of the slope gradient and minimum land management reflecting site specific conditions to limit erosion, minimum soil cover to avoid bare soil, protection of soils in periods that are most sensitive as well as crop rotation on arable land. In addition, GAEC 1 on protection of permanent pasture and GAEC 2 on protecting wetlands and peatlands and soils high in organic matter, are relevant for soil protection.

RemovedRecital 40: (40) Member States should be required to closely monitor the impact of soil management practices and adjust practices and recommendations as necessary, taking into account new knowledge from research and innovation. Valuable contributions are expected in this respect from the Horizon Europe Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ and in particular its living labs and activities to support soil monitoring, soil education and citizen engagement.

RemovedRecital 42: (42) To ensure synergies between the different measures adopted under other Union legislation that may have an impact on soil health, and the measures that are to be put in place to sustainably manage and regenerate soils in the Union, Member States should ensure that the sustainable soil management and regeneration practices are coherent with the national restoration plans adopted in accordance with Regulation (UE) …/… of the European Parliament and of the Council52+; the national biodiversity strategies and action plans established in accordance with Article 6 of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, the strategic plans to be drawn up by Member States under the Common Agricultural Policy in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, the codes of good agricultural practices and the action programmes for designated vulnerable zones adopted in accordance with Council Directive 91/676/ EEC53 , the conservation measures and prioritized action framework established for Natura 2000 sites in accordance with Council Directive 92/43/EEC54, the measures for achieving good ecological and chemical status of water bodies included in river basin management plans prepared in accordance with Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council55, the flood risk management measures established in accordance with Directive 2007/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council56, the drought management plans promoted in the Union Strategy on Adaptation to Clim…

RemovedRecital 43: (43) Contaminated sites are the legacy of decades of industrial activity in the EU and may lead to risks for human and animal health and the environment now and in the future. Building on existing knowledge, it is therefore necessary to identify and investigate potentially contaminated sites and then, in case of confirmed contamination, to assess the risks and take measures to address them. Soil investigation may prove that a potentially contaminated site is in fact not contaminated. In that case, the site should no longer be labelled by the Member State as potentially contaminated, unless contamination is suspected based on new evidence.

RemovedRecital 44: (44) To identify potentially contaminated sites, Member States should collect evidence among others through historical research, past industrial incidents and accidents, environmental permits, health surveys and notifications by the public or authorities.

RemovedRecital 45: (45) In order to ensure that soil investigations on potentially contaminated sites are carried out timely and effectively, as requested in the European Parliament´s resolution of 28 April 2021 on soil protection, Member States should, in addition to the obligation to lay down the deadline by which those investigations should be carried out, be required to lay down specific events that also trigger such investigation. Such triggering events may include the request or review of an environmental or building permit or an authorisation required pursuant to Union legislation or national legislation, soil excavation activities, land use changes or land or real estate transactions. Soil investigations may follow different stages, such as a desk study, site visit, preliminary or exploratory investigation, more detailed or descriptive investigation, and field or laboratory testing. Baseline reports and monitoring measures implemented in accordance with Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council65 could also qualify as soil investigation where appropriate.

RemovedRecital 46: (46) Flexibility for the management of potentially contaminated sites and contaminated sites is needed to take account of costs, benefits and local specificities. Member States should therefore adopt a risk-based approach for managing potentially contaminated sites and contaminated sites, taking into account the difference between these two categories, and which allows to allocate resources taking account of the specific environmental, economic and social context. Decisions should be taken in cooperation with local health practitioners, health authorities and the scientific community, based on the nature and extent of potential risks for human health and the environment resulting from exposure to soil contaminants (e.g. exposure of vulnerable populations such as pregnant women, persons with disabilities, elderly people and children), including exposure, and cumulative effects on human health, soil ecosystems and associated ecosystem services. The cost-benefit analysis of undertaking remediation should be balanced, taking into account the advantages for future generations. The optimum remediation solution should be sustainable and selected through a balanced decision-making process that takes account of the environmental, economic and social impacts. The management of potentially contaminated sites and contaminated sites should respect the polluter-pays, precautionary and proportionality principles. Member States should lay down the specific methodology for determining the sit…

RemovedRecital 46 a (new): (46a) Land take mitigation principles should facilitate the Union´s food security while taking into account sustainable housing, essential infrastructure and renewable energy projects.

RemovedRecital 47: (47) Measures taken pursuant to this Directive should also take account of other EU policy objectives. / (deleted)

RemovedRecital 48 a (new): (48a) In order to protect soils from pollution by emerging chemicals that have the potential to cause significant risks to human and animal health and to contaminate surrounding air, surface waters, groundwater, and subsequently oceans, policy mechanisms to detect and assess such substances of emerging concern should be established. In that regard, an approach that allows monitoring and analysis of those substances or groups of substances via watch lists, as is already the case for surface water and groundwater, should be developed for soil contamination. The substances or groups of substances to be placed on the watch list should be selected from amongst those substances for which the information available indicates that they could pose a significant risk at Union level to, or via, the soil environment, and for which the monitoring data are insufficient. The number of such substances or groups of substances to be monitored and analysed under the watch lists should not be limited.

RemovedRecital 48 b (new): (48b) Substances such as persistent organic pollutants, materials and particles, including microplastics or nanoplastics, pose a clear risk to soil health, but also to essential activities such as the development of agriculture. Their presence in soils can have implications for soil fertility, thereby compromising the health and healthy development of crops. It is therefore essential that this Directive provide for a framework for both substances and materials to be included in the monitoring of soil contaminants, and for the establishment of environmental quality standards and a set of measures to prevent and remediate soil contamination from known and emerging threats, where appropriate.

RemovedRecital 50: (50) Directive (EU) 2019/1024 of the European Parliament and of the Council68 mandates the release of public sector data in free and open formats. The overall objective is to continue the strengthening of the EU’s data economy by increasing the amount of interoperable public sector data available for re-use, ensuring fair competition and easy access to public sector information, and enhancing cross-border innovation based on data. Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council69 is aimed at guaranteeing the right of access to environmental information in the Member States in line with the Aarhus Convention. The Aarhus Convention and Directive 2003/4/EC encompass broad obligations related both to making environmental information available upon request and actively disseminating such information. Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council70 is also of broad scope, covering the sharing of spatial information, including data sets on different environmental topics. It is important that provisions of this Directive related to access to information and data-sharing arrangements complement those Directives and do not create a separate legal regime. Therefore, the provisions of this Directive regarding information to the public and information on monitoring of implementation should be without prejudice to Directives (EU) 2019/1024, 2003/4/EC and 2007/2/EC.

RemovedRecital 51: (51) In order to ensure the necessary adaptation of the rules on soil health monitoring, assessment and management of contaminated sites, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amending or supplementing this Directive to adopt a methodology for determining threshold values for soil descriptors to be established by Member States, and to adapt to technical and scientific progress the methodologies for monitoring soil health, the indicative list of risk reduction measures, the phases and requirements for the site-specific risk assessment and establishment of the minimum tolerable values in relation to the definition of an unacceptable risk for health and the environment resulting from contaminated sites. It is of particular importance that the Commission carries out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 13 April 201671. In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States’ experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

RemovedRecital 53: (53) The Commission should carry out an evidence-based evaluation and, where relevant, a revision of this Directive, 6 years after its entry into force on the basis of the results of the soil health assessment. The evaluation should assess in particular the gap and measures needed to achieve healthy soils by 2050. The evaluation should also assess the need to adapt the definition of healthy soils to scientific and technical progress by adding provisions on certain descriptors or criteria based on new scientific evidence relating to the protection of soils or on the grounds of a problem specific to a Member State arising from new environmental or climatic circumstances. Pursuant to paragraph 22 of the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making, that evaluation should be based on the criteria of efficiency, effectiveness, relevance, coherence and EU value added and should provide the basis for impact assessments of possible further measures.

RemovedRecital 55 a (new): (55a) This Directive is aimed at meeting the long-term objective of healthy soil in the Union by 2050 based on a coherent framework for soil monitoring and improvement of its health. Given its nature as a directive, in accordance with Article 288 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, this Directive is binding as to the result to be achieved in the Member States to whom it is addressed, while leaving national authorities the power to choose the form and methods to achieve the result. It will therefore be up to Member States to devise their own laws on how to reach the goals laid down in this Directive. The proposed instrument of a directive leaves much flexibility to the Member States to identify the best measures for them and to adapt the approach to local conditions. This is crucial to take account of the regional and local specificities as regards soil variability, land use, climatological conditions and socio-economic aspects. The nature of the instrument implies that principles laid down in this Directive do not entail direct obligations on individuals.

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1: 1. The objective of the Directive is to put in place a clear, solid, coherent and flexible framework for soil monitoring and assessment for all soils across the EU in order to continuously improve soil health in the Union with the view to achieve healthy soils by 2050 and maintain soils in healthy condition and prevent their deterioration so that they can supply multiple ecosystem services at a scale sufficient to meet environmental, societal and economic needs, prevent and mitigate the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss, increase the resilience against natural disasters and for food security and that soil contamination is reduced to levels no longer considered harmful to human health and the environment. / This Directive, therefore, establishes a framework within which Member States are required to put in place measures that are technically feasible and based on a cost-benefit analysis, with a view to achieving healthy soils by 2050.

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 a (new): 1a. This Directive contributes to fulfilling international and Union-level commitments, objectives and goals, including those contained in: / (a) the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework; / (b) the Paris Agreement; / (c) the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD); / (d) the 7th EU Environment Action Programme (Decision No 1386/2013/EU); / (e) the 8th EU Environment Action Programme (Decision (EU) 2022/591); / (f) the Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe (COM/2011/0571).

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 2 – point a: (a) monitoring, maintaining, improving, rehabilitating and assessing soil health, based on its ecological status;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 1 – point 1 a (new): (1a) ‘soil ecological status’ means the ecological quality of a soil evaluated according to the soil’s diversity, biological and functional activity, habitat and the presence of degradation factors, and determined according to the following classification: / (a) ‘high soil ecological status’ refers to soils with high biological and functional activity; / (b) ‘good ecological status’ refers to soils in an overall good ecological status but that show evidence of slight adverse impacts from one or multiple degradation factors; / (c) ‘moderate ecological status’ refers to soils with evidence of slight adverse impacts from degradation factors; / (d) ‘degraded soils’ refers to soils with clear evidence of adverse impacts from one degradation factor; and / (e) ‘critically degraded soils’ refers to soils with clear evidence of adverse impacts from more than one degradation factor;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 1 – point 1 b (new): (1b) ‘soil ecological functions’ means the set of interrelated processes and interactions within the soil ecosystem that sustain life, support and are the result of soil biodiversity and maintain the overall health and productivity of terrestrial environments, such as nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition, soil structure formation, water filtration and purification, carbon sequestration, and the provision of habitats and resources for a diverse range of organisms;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 1 – point 3: (3) ‘ecosystem services’ means direct and indirect contributions of ecosystems to the wellbeing of society as a whole, and economic, social, cultural, environmental and other benefits that people derive from those ecosystems;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 1 – point 3 a (new): (3a) ‘soil biodiversity’ means the variation in soil life, from genes to communities, and the ecological complexes of which they are part, that is complexes ranging from soil micro-habitats to landscapes;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 1 – point 4: (4) ‘soil health’ means the physical, chemical, functional and biological condition of the soil determining its capacity to function as a vital living system and to provide ecosystem services, taking land use into account;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 1 – point 5: (5) ‘sustainable soil management’ means soil and land management practices that maintain or enhance soil productivity, soil biodiversity and the ecosystem services provided by the soil without impairing the functions enabling those services, or being detrimental to other properties of the environment;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 1 – point 8: (8) ‘soil district’ means the part of the territory of a Member State or several Member States, as delimited by that Member State or those Member States in accordance with this Directive;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 1 – point 10: (10) ‘contaminated site’ means a delineated area of one or several plots with confirmed presence of soil contamination caused by the presence of a substance or material in the soil in a concentration that may be harmful to health or the environment;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 1 – point 17 a (new): (17a) 'soil sealing' means the covering of land with impermeable material, particularly in the context of using land as a platform for buildings and infrastructure;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 1 – point 17 b (new): (17b) ‘de-sealing of soil’ means the re-conversion of land that no longer performs its natural soil functions, such as infiltration, percolation and hydrological functionality, into functional soil;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 1 – point 19: (19) ‘public concerned’ means the public affected or likely to be affected by soil degradation, or having an interest in the decision-making procedures related to the implementation of the obligations under this Directive, including citizens, land owners, managers and users, as well as non-governmental organisations promoting the protection of human or animal health or the environment and meeting any requirements under national law.

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 1 – point 19 a (new): (19a) ‘public’ means one or more natural or legal persons and, in accordance with national law or practice, associations, organisations or groups comprising such persons;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 1 – point 20: (20) ‘soil contamination’ means the presence of a substance or material in the soil in a concentration that may lead, directly or indirectly, to harmful effects on human or animal health or the environment;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 1 – point 23: (23) ‘risk’ means the possibility of harmful effects to human or animal health or the environment resulting from exposure to soil contamination;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 1 – point 26: (26) ‘soil remediation’ means a regeneration action that reduces, isolates or immobilizes contaminant concentrations in the soil below a toxicity threshold for which significant dangers for organisms in contact with that soil can be excluded, with the aim of improving the ecological status.

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1: Member States shall, in consultation with local, regional and cross-regional authorities, establish soil districts, based on, where appropriate, existing administrative units throughout their own territory and in cross-border territories together with neighbouring Member States.

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2: The number of soil districts for each Member State, including the cross-border soil districts between neighbouring Member States referred to in the first subparagraph, shall as a minimum correspond to the number of NUTS 1 territorial units established under Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003.

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 2 – introductory part: 2. When establishing the geographic extent of soil districts, Member States may take into account existing land use, governance structures and administrative units and shall prioritise homogeneity within each soil district regarding the following parameters:

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 2 – point d a (new): (da) river basin districts pursuant to Directive 2000/60/EC and water bodies used for abstraction of water intended for human consumption as defined in Directive (EU) 2020/2184.

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 2 a (new): (2a) Member States shall, where appropriate, ensure that soil districts of neighbouring Member States in which there are transboundary effects on soil, comparable land use across borders or similar values for the parameters referred to in paragraph 2, points (a) to (d), cooperate with each other to exchange best practices. Member States shall also ensure that a coherent approach is taken by soil districts across borders.

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 2 b (new): (2b) The Commission shall support Member States in ensuring that their soil districts cooperate on a cross-border basis and shall facilitate harmonisation of monitoring systems, transfer functions, monitoring design and classification of ecological status at the level of the soil descriptors listed in Annex I.

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 2 c (new): (2 c) Relevant competent authorities shall, if they consider it necessary, draw up soil district plans, taking fully into account the other provisions set out in this Directive, and set up intermediate targets to achieve measurable improvement of soil health. / The relevant competent authorities shall ensure that the process of drawing up the soil district plans is open, inclusive and effective and that the public concerned, including the population of the relevant soil district, landowners, land managers, non-governmental organisations and researchers are given early and effective opportunities to participate. The soil district plans shall be made available online by the respective competent authority. The Commission shall issue guidelines concerning soil district plans by ... [insert the date of 1 year from the entry into force of this Directive].

RemovedArticle 5 – paragraph 1: Member States shall designate the competent authorities responsible at an appropriate level for carrying out the duties laid down in this Directive, taking into account existing administrative divisions and responsibilities, including in the case of cross-border soil districts.

RemovedArticle 5 – paragraph 2: Member States shall designate one competent authority for each soil district established in accordance with Article 4. Member States may designate one competent authority for several soil districts.

RemovedArticle 5 – paragraph 2 a (new): Member States shall communicate to the Commission the list of competent authorities referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article in accordance with Article 18(3), point (b). The Commission shall maintain an updated list of the competent authorities on its website.

RemovedArticle 6 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall establish a monitoring framework based on the soil districts established in accordance with Article 4(1), to ensure that regular and accurate monitoring of soil health is carried out in accordance with this Article and Annexes I and II, and is complementary to the assessment approach established by Directive 2000/60/EC.

RemovedArticle 6 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States shall monitor soil health and land take in each soil district. Member States shall make use of the expertise of national research institutes, existing national monitoring systems and available data. The monitoring activities carried out by the Member States shall not result in a financial burden for the land managers.

RemovedArticle 6 – paragraph 3 – point b: (b) the soil sampling points and sampling depth to be determined in accordance with Article 8(2);

RemovedArticle 6 – paragraph 3 – point d: (d) scientifically robust remote sensing data and products referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article, if any;

RemovedArticle 6 – paragraph 4: 4. The Commission shall, in cooperation with Member States, carry out regular soil measurements on soil samples taken in-situ at least every three years, based on the relevant descriptors and methodologies referred to in Articles 7 and 8, to support Member States’ monitoring of soil health. Member States shall provide the necessary support to the Commission, including requesting the permission of landowners and land managers, where applicable, in order to ensure that the Commission can carry out such in-situ soil sampling.

RemovedArticle 6 – paragraph 4 a (new): 4a. The Commission shall ensure that the first soil measurement referred to in paragraph 4 is performed by ... [OP: please insert the date = three years from the entry into force of this Directive]. / The Commission shall contribute to the monitoring carried out by Member States by providing sampling and analysing of at least 20 % of the size of national samples. / The Commission shall, at the request of a Member State, provide further assistance with up to 50% of the sampling during the first national monitoring round.

RemovedArticle 6 – paragraph 6 – introductory part: 6. The Commission and the EEA shall, on the basis of existing data and within two years of the entry into force of this Directive, establish a digital soil health data portal that shall provide access in georeferenced spatial format, in line with Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council1a, to at least the available soil health data resulting from: / 1a Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics and repealing Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1101/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality to the Statistical Office of the European Communities, Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 on Community Statistics, and Council Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom establishing a Committee on the Statistical Programmes of the European Communities (OJ L 087 31.3.2009, p. 164).

RemovedArticle 6 – paragraph 6 a (new): 6a. The soil monitoring framework referred to in paragraphs 3 to 6 shall build on existing monitoring frameworks at Union and national level, including data from the LUCAS Soil Observatory.

RemovedArticle 6 – paragraph 7 a (new): 7a. The digital soil health data portal shall include the Sustainable Soil Management Toolbox referred to in Article 10a.

RemovedArticle 6 – paragraph 8: 8. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts to establish formats or methods for sharing or collecting the data referred to in paragraph 7 or for integrating those data in the digital soil health data portal, ensuring compliance with Union law on the protection of personal data. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 21.

RemovedArticle 6 – paragraph 8 a (new): 8a. The Commission shall provide to Member States the necessary capacity building, assistance and consulting services and support their monitoring initiatives, multilateral harmonisation of regulations, methods and archives, and thereby close existing data gaps and workflow bottlenecks by sharing common expertise. To that end, the Commission shall build on existing mechanisms, including the Soil BON initiative.

RemovedArticle 6 a (new): Article 6a / Efficient use and preservation of soil samples / 1. The Commission, together with Member States and the European Soil Observatory, shall put in place measures to ensure that the physical archives of soils, DNA extracts and the digital archive of raw data, at both Union and national level, remain available for further research and innovation. The Commission and Member States shall ensure that samples are stored in a manner appropriate to their long-term sustainable use. / 2. By ... [OP: please insert the date = 12 months from the date of entry into force of this Directive], the Commission shall provide guidelines with protocols of reference to use soil samples in the most cost-efficient way.

RemovedArticle 7 – title: Soil descriptors, criteria for soil ecological status, land take and soil sealing indicators

RemovedArticle 7 – paragraph 1: 1. When monitoring and assessing soil health, Member States shall apply the soil descriptors and soil health criteria listed in Annex I according to the respective Tier (Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3) for soil monitoring design.

RemovedArticle 7 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States shall select the adequate tier for the soil monitoring design for which they qualify in accordance with the conditions of Annex I, and shall ensure that they include at least all soil descriptors in Part A of Annex I.

RemovedArticle 7 – paragraph 3: 3. Member States shall determine the organic contaminants for the soil descriptor related to soil contamination referred to in part A of Annex I.

RemovedArticle 7 – paragraph 4: deleted

RemovedArticle 7 – paragraph 5: 5. Member States may set additional soil descriptors and land take indicators, including but not limited to the descriptors and indicators listed in part D of Annex I, for monitoring purposes.

RemovedArticle 7 – paragraph 6: 6. Member States shall inform the Commission when soil descriptors, land take indicators and soil health criteria are set or adapted in accordance with paragraphs 2 to 5 of this Article and with Article 9.

RemovedArticle 8 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall determine sampling points by applying the methodology set out in Annex I according to the selected tier for soil monitoring design, taking into account risk assessments based on existing monitoring systems.

RemovedArticle 8 – paragraph 2 – point a: (a) the values of the soil descriptors according to the selected tier for soil monitoring design as set in Annex I;

RemovedArticle 8 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point a: (a) the methodologies for determining or estimating the values of the soil descriptors set out in Annex II;

RemovedArticle 8 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2: Member States may apply other methodologies than the ones listed in the first subparagraph, points (a) and (b), provided that validated transfer functions are available or may be estimated by comparing data taken at national level with in-situ monitoring coordinated by the Commission, as required in Annex II, part B, fourth column.

RemovedArticle 8 – paragraph 4: 4. Member States shall ensure that the first soil measurements are performed at the latest by… (OP: please insert the date =3 years after date of entry into force of the Directive).

RemovedArticle 8 – paragraph 5: 5. Member States shall ensure that new soil measurements are performed at least every 6 years or earlier, whenever soil status modification is suspected. Member States shall also facilitate soil monitoring being carried out at shorter intervals to facilitate in-situ soil monitoring coordinated by the Commission. / Member States shall ensure that the value of the land take and soil sealing indicators are updated at least every two years.

RemovedArticle 8 – paragraph 6: 6. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 20 to amend Annex II in order to adapt the reference methodologies mentioned in it to scientific and technical progress.

RemovedArticle 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1: Member States shall assess the soil health in all their soil districts based on the data collected in the context of the monitoring referred to in Articles 6, 7 and 8 for each of the soil descriptors referred to in Annex I according to the selected tier for soil monitoring design, while taking into account the historical and natural circumstances of the soil.

RemovedArticle 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2: For the assessment of the soil ecological status, Member States shall also take into account the data collected in the context of soil investigations referred to in Article 14.

RemovedArticle 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 3: Member States shall ensure that assessments of soil ecological status are performed at least every 6 years and that the first assessment is performed by … (OP: please insert the date = 5 years after date of entry into force of the Directive), accompanied by reports on relative improvement, trends, progress or regression.

RemovedArticle 9 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1: A soil is considered healthy in accordance with this Directive where the soil is classified either with good or high ecological status. / (deleted) / (deleted)

RemovedArticle 9 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2: deleted

RemovedArticle 9 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 3: deleted

RemovedArticle 9 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1: Member States shall analyse the values for the soil descriptors listed in parts A, B and C of Annex I, according to the selected tier for soil monitoring design, and assess whether there is a critical loss of soil biodiversity and ecosystem services, taking into account the relevant data and available scientific knowledge.

RemovedArticle 9 – paragraph 4: 4. Based on the assessment of soil health carried out in accordance with this Article, the competent authority shall, where relevant in coordination with local, regional, national authorities, identify, in each soil district, the areas of soil that are not of high soil ecological status or good ecological status and inform the public in accordance with Article 19.

RemovedArticle 9 – paragraph 4 a (new): 4a. The Commission shall adopt delegated acts by 31 December 2026 in accordance with Article 20 to supplement this Regulation by establishing a methodology for determining threshold values for soil descriptors in Annex I for each soil ecological status. The methodology shall take into consideration the most recent scientific evidence and account for different climatic conditions and type of soils.

RemovedArticle 9 – paragraph 4 b (new): 4b. By 30 June 2028, Member States shall submit to the Commission draft threshold values for soil descriptors in Annex I, taking into consideration climate conditions, the type of soil and type of land area, together with the scientific justification and evidence on which they based their choices.

RemovedArticle 9 – paragraph 4 c (new): 4c. Within 6 months of the date of the submission of the draft threshold values referred to in paragraph 4b, the Commission shall make observations on the draft threshold values, assessing the scientific justification and ensuring a level playing field within the internal market. Upon request from the Commission, Member States shall provide to the Commission all necessary additional information and, where appropriate, revise the proposed threshold values.

RemovedArticle 9 – paragraph 4 d (new): 4d. Provided that any observations made by the Commission in accordance with paragraph 4c have been adequately taken into account, the Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, approve threshold values no later than 31 December 2029.

RemovedArticle 9 – paragraph 4 e (new): 4e. Member States shall ensure that the soil ecological status in the respective soil districts is improved as follows: / (a) from critically degraded soils to degraded soils within 10 years; / (b) from degraded soils to moderate ecological status and from moderate ecological status to good ecological status within 6 years. / By way of derogation from the first subparagraph of this paragraph, Member States may apply different periods for sites registered as contaminated, pursuant to Articles 15 and 16, on condition that management and mitigation plans with predefined timelines and targets are in place.

RemovedArticle 9 – paragraph 4 f (new): 4f. When applying a Tier 2 for soil monitoring design, Member States may benefit from variation of up to 20% in comparison to the threshold values set in accordance with paragraph 4d.

RemovedArticle 9 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1: deleted

RemovedArticle 9 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 2: deleted

RemovedArticle 9 – paragraph 6: 6. Member States shall communicate soil health data and assessment referred to in Articles 6 to 9 to the relevant land owners and land managers and make them available free of charge, in particular to support the development of the advice referred to in Article 10(3). Member States shall ensure that research institutions have easy and continuous access to samples, DNA extracts and raw data free of charge.

RemovedArticle 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part: 1. From (OP: please insert the date = 4 years after date of entry into force of the Directive), Member States shall take the following measures, taking into account the geographical and climatic differences, type, intended function, land use and condition of soil:

RemovedArticle 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a: (a) defining sustainable soil management practices taking into account the non-binding sustainable soil management principles listed in Annex III to be gradually implemented on managed soils, where appropriate, on the basis of the outcome of the soil assessments carried out in accordance with Article 9;

RemovedArticle 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point b: (b) defining soil management practices and other practices that have significantly negative effects on soil health to be avoided by soil managers.

RemovedArticle 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2: When defining the practices and measures referred to in this paragraph, Member States shall take into account the indicative list of programmes, plans, targets and measures listed in Annex IV as well as the latest existing scientific knowledge including results coming out of the Horizon Europe Mission a Soil Deal for Europe, in particular the activities from the Mission Soil Living Labs.

RemovedArticle 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 a (new): Member State shall ensure that practices referred to in this paragraph are technically feasible and duly take into account the socio-economic impacts.

RemovedArticle 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 4: Member States shall ensure that the process of elaboration of the practices referred to in the first subparagraph is open, inclusive and effective and that the public concerned, in particular experts, landowners and managers, are involved and are given early and effective opportunities to participate in their elaboration.

RemovedArticle 10 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1: 2. Member States shall ensure easy and equal access to impartial and independent advice on sustainable soil management, training activities and capacity building for soil managers, landowners and relevant authorities, in all their soil districts.

RemovedArticle 10 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 – point b: (b) promoting research, citizens science and encourage implementation of sustainable soil management concepts;

RemovedArticle 10 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 – point c: (c) making available a regularly updated mapping of available funding instruments and activities to support the implementation of sustainable soil management, and other activities to support the implementation of this Directive, including research and citizen science.

RemovedArticle 10 – paragraph 4: deleted

RemovedArticle 10 – paragraph 4 a (new): 4a. The Commission shall, upon request, assist and provide guidance to Member States regarding the development of specific measures linked to the sustainable soil management principles listed in Annex III.

RemovedArticle 10 a (new): Article 10a / Sustainable Soil Management Toolbox / 1. In order to support the implementation of this Directive, the Commission shall establish a sustainable soil management toolbox that provides soil managers with practical information on the use of sustainable soil management practices, which includes information provided by the Member States. / 2. The toolbox shall contain: / (a) recommendations and examples of best practices from the Member States´ competent authorities which monitor the impact of soil management practices, and information about the impact of such practices on various ecosystem services and soil threats; / (b) the context-specific information related to combinations of soil type, land use and climatic conditions; / (c) new knowledge from research and innovation, including from the Horizon Europe mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’; / (d) other relevant information collected by the Commission or provided to the Commission by the Member States. / 3. The toolbox shall be publicly available free of charge, and be included in the digital soil health data portal established in accordance with Article 6(6). / The Commission shall actively update and take all appropriate measures to promote the content of the toolbox to land managers.

RemovedArticle 11 – title: Land take mitigation

RemovedArticle 11 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: In case of land take, Member States shall consider the following actions, while taking into account local specificities and socio-economic impacts:

RemovedArticle 11 – paragraph 1 – point a – introductory part: (a) avoiding or reducing as much as technically and economically possible the loss of the capacity of the soil to provide multiple ecosystem and other services, including agriculture, food production and sustainable forest management by:

RemovedArticle 11 – paragraph 1 – point a – point i: (i) reducing the area affected by the land take as much as possible;

RemovedArticle 11 – paragraph 1 – point a – point ii: (ii) prioritising areas where the loss of ecosystem services would be minimized;

RemovedArticle 11 – paragraph 1 – point a – point iii: (iii) performing the land take in a way that is aligned with sustainable development, including preserving soil fertility, biodiversity, water permeability, filtration and retention to the extent possible;

RemovedArticle 11 – paragraph 1 – point b: (b) if possible compensating as much as possible the loss of soil capacity to provide multiple ecosystem services. Such compensation, where applicable, may take place on an aggregated level or cross border between Member States if the soil district has the same characteristics as an adjacent soil district in a neighbouring Member State or a cross-border soil district.

RemovedArticle 11 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new): (ba) adopting measures to ensure fair compensation of landowners in case of land take;

RemovedArticle 11 – paragraph 1 – point b b (new): (bb) putting in place measures to prevent or limit land take, including mapping of abandoned brownfield and industrial sites and incentives to restore and reuse abandoned areas with sealed soils.

RemovedArticle 12 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall manage and reduce the risks for human and animal health and the environment of potentially contaminated sites and contaminated sites, and keep them to acceptable levels considering the intended use of the soil, taking account of the environmental, social and economic impacts of the soil contamination and of the risk reduction measures taken pursuant to Article 15 paragraph 4.

RemovedArticle 12 – paragraph 4 – introductory part: 4. The public shall be given early and effective opportunities:

RemovedArticle 12 – paragraph 4 – point a: (a) to participate in the establishment and concrete application of the risk-based approach as defined in this Article, the identification of potentially contaminated sites in accordance with Article 13, the investigation of potentially contaminated sites in accordance with Article 14 and the assessment and management of contaminated sites in accordance with Article 15, when all options are still available;

RemovedArticle 12 – paragraph 4 – point b: (b) to provide information and evidence relevant for the activities referred to in point (a) at any time, such as human biomonitoring or environmental monitoring data;

RemovedArticle 12 – paragraph 4 a (new): 4a. For the purposes of paragraph 4, Member States shall ensure that the public is informed in a timely, adequate and effective manner, including by public notices and electronic media, of all relevant information.

RemovedArticle 12 – paragraph 4 b (new): 4b. Member States shall take due account of the information submitted in accordance with paragraph 4 when implementing the provisions of this Chapter and in relation to the soil descriptors for soil contamination listed in Annex I.

RemovedArticle 12 – paragraph 4 c (new): 4c. Where the evidence shows wide dispersive soil pollution or exposure to the substance or mixture concerned via soil, the competent authority shall initiate a risk management process. Where the evidence shows a lack of information on the risk to human or animal health or the environment posed by a hazardous substance or mixture present in the soil, the competent authority shall investigate further with a view to taking risk management measures in line with the precautionary principle, where necessary.

RemovedArticle 12 – paragraph 4 d (new): 4d. Member States shall promptly inform the public of any decision or measure taken pursuant to paragraphs 4 and 4c and of the reasons and considerations upon which the decision or measure is based, including an explanation of how the information was taken into account.

RemovedArticle 13 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall systematically and actively identify all sites where a soil contamination is suspected based on evidence collected through all appropriate means, including citizens' input and set procedures (‘potentially contaminated sites’).

RemovedArticle 13 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point d: deleted / (deleted)

RemovedArticle 13 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point f a (new): (fa) any areas used for the abstraction of drinking water;

RemovedArticle 13 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point g a (new): (ga) occurrence of any disease that is presumed to be linked to exposure to contamination via the soil;

RemovedArticle 13 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point g b (new): (gb) any information provided by the public or Member State authorities.

RemovedArticle 14 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall ensure that all potentially contaminated sites identified in accordance with Article 13 are subject to soil investigation according to order of priority.

RemovedArticle 14 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1: Member States shall lay down the rules concerning the deadline, content, form and the prioritisation of the soil investigations, taking into account environmental, social and economic aspects. Those rules shall be established in accordance with the risk-based approach referred to in Article 12 and the list of potentially contaminating risk activities referred to in Article 13(2), second subparagraph.

RemovedArticle 14 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 a (new): Potentially contaminated sites located in areas used for the abstraction of water for human consumption shall be prioritised for soil investigation.

RemovedArticle 15 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States shall define what constitutes an unacceptable risk for human and animal health and the environment resulting from contaminated sites by taking into account existing scientific knowledge, the opinion of health professionals and health authorities, the precautionary principle, local specificities, and current and future land use.

RemovedArticle 15 – paragraph 3: 3. For each contaminated site identified pursuant to Article 14 or by any other means, the responsible competent authority shall carry out a site-specific assessment for the current and planned land uses to determine whether the contaminated site poses unacceptable risks for human and animal health or the environment.

RemovedArticle 15 – paragraph 3 a (new): 3a. Where appropriate, Member States may consider assessments which have been implemented in accordance with Directives 2010/75/EU, 2011/92/EU or 2012/18/EU as sufficient.

RemovedArticle 15 – paragraph 4: 4. On the basis of the outcome of the assessment referred to in paragraph 3, the responsible competent authority shall ensure that the appropriate measures are taken to bring the risks to an acceptable level for human health and the environment (‘risk reduction measures’).

RemovedArticle 15 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1: The risk reduction measures shall be based on the measures referred to in Annex V. When deciding on the appropriate risk reduction measures, the competent authority shall take into consideration the costs, benefits, effectiveness, durability, and technical feasibility of available risk reduction measures in the short and long term. Member States shall always aim for prevention and soil decontamination.

RemovedArticle 15 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 2: Risk reduction measures affecting surrounding water bodies used for abstraction of water intended for human consumption shall comply with the acceptable risk standards set out in Directive (EU) 2020/2184.

RemovedArticle 15 – paragraph 5 a (new): 5a. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 20 to supplement this Directive by establishing maximum tolerable values in relation to the definition of an unacceptable risk for health and the environment resulting from contaminated sites as referred to in paragraph 2.

RemovedArticle 16 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1: Member States shall make public, accessible in a user-friendly manner and free of charge the register and information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2. Disclosure of any information may be refused or restricted by the competent authority where the conditions laid down in Article 4 of Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council78 are fulfilled. The register shall be made available in an online georeferenced spatial database.

RemovedArticle 16 – paragraph 5: 5. The Commission shall by ... [OP : please insert date 1 year from entry into force of the Directive] adopt implementing acts establishing the format of the register. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 21.

RemovedArticle 17 – title: Union and Member States' financing

RemovedArticle 17 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1: Given the priority inherently attached to the establishment of soil monitoring and sustainable management and regeneration of soils, by ... [OP: please insert date = 12 months from the entry into force of this Directive], the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council evaluating the financial resources available at Union level for the implementation of this Directive.

RemovedArticle 17 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 a (new): The Commission shall assess any gap between the available Union funding and funding needs for supporting Member States in the implementation of this Directive, paying specific attention to environmental monitoring needs, including LUCAS soil.

RemovedArticle 17 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 b (new): Additional financial resources shall be put in place for the post-2027 period in order to promote the sustainable management of soils, their permanent regeneration and monitoring activities.

RemovedArticle 17 – paragraph 1 a (new): 1a. When implementing this Directive, Member States shall make use of financial resources from appropriate sources, including Union, national, regional and local funds, to finance actions with a focus on soil protection, sustainable management and regeneration.

RemovedArticle 17 – paragraph 1 b (new): 1b. The Commission shall monitor the capacity of Member States to absorb Union funds related to soil protection, sustainable management and regeneration. The Commission shall provide training and technical support to increase the absorption capacity of the Member States.

RemovedArticle 17 – paragraph 1 c (new): 1c. Member States and the Commission, in collaboration with the European Investment Bank, shall improve and facilitate the use of innovative financing mechanisms and promote the mobilisation of private capital for actions necessary to achieve the objectives of this Directive.

RemovedArticle 17 – paragraph 1 d (new): 1d. Member States and the Commission shall observe the ‘do no significant harm’ principle within the meaning of Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 for the implementation of this Directive.

RemovedArticle 18 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part: Member States shall electronically report the following data and information to the Commission and to the EEA at least every 6 years:

RemovedArticle 18 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point b: (b) the supporting data, metadata and a trend analysis of the soil health for the descriptors listed in parts A, B, and C of Annex I, according to the selected tier for soil monitoring design and for the land take and soil sealing indicators listed in part D of Annex I in accordance with Article 9, including the extended descriptors indicated by individual Member States;

RemovedArticle 18 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2: The first reports shall be submitted by … (OP: please insert date = 6 years after entry into force of the Directive).

RemovedArticle 18 – paragraph 3 – point a: (a) an up-to-date list and spatial data of their soil districts referred to in Article 4 by … (OP: please insert the date = 12 months after date of entry into force of the Directive) and, where available, their respective soil district plans;

RemovedArticle 18 – paragraph 3 – point b: (b) an up-to-date list of the competent authorities referred to in Article 5 by … (OP: please insert the date = 12 months after date of entry into force of the Directive);

RemovedArticle 18 – paragraph 3 – point c a (new): (ca) the measurements of the soil descriptors at the level of the sampling point.

RemovedArticle 19 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall make the data generated by the monitoring carried out under Article 8 and the assessments carried out under Article 9 and Article 10(3) of this Directive accessible to the public, in accordance with the provisions under Article 11 of Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council79 for geographically explicit data and Article 5 of Directive (EU) 2019/1024 for other data.

RemovedArticle 19 – paragraph 4 a (new): 4a. Member States shall adopt measures to ensure that soil related information collected through the implementation of this Directive is made available to the potential buyer or potential tenant of the relevant land plot.

RemovedArticle 20 – paragraph 2: 2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Articles 8, 9 and 15 shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from the date of entry into force of this Directive

RemovedArticle 20 – paragraph 3: 3. The delegation of power referred to in Articles 8, 9 and 15 may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

RemovedArticle 20 – paragraph 6: 6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Articles 8, 9 and 15 shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

RemovedArticle 22 – paragraph 2: Member States shall determine what constitutes a sufficient interest and impairment of a right, consistently with the objective of providing the public with wide access to justice in line with Article 9 of the Aarhus Convention. The recognition of standing shall not be conditional on the member of the public concerned having played a role during a participatory phase of the decision-making procedures under this Directive.

RemovedArticle 23 – paragraph 2: 2. The penalties referred to in paragraph 1 shall include fines proportionate to the turnover of the legal person or to the income of the natural person having committed the violation. The level of the fines shall be calculated in such a way as to make sure that they effectively deprive the person responsible for the violation of the economic benefits derived from that violation. In the case of a violation committed by a legal person, such fines shall be proportionate to the legal person’s annual turnover in the Member State concerned, taking into account, inter alia, the specificities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

RemovedArticle 23 – paragraph 3 – introductory part: 3. Member States shall in accordance with national law ensure that the penalties established pursuant to this Article give due regard to the following, as applicable:

RemovedArticle 23 – paragraph 3 – point c: (c) the population or the environment affected by the violation, bearing in mind the impact of the infringement on the objective of achieving a high level of protection of human health and the environment and on the polluter pays principle;

RemovedArticle 23 – paragraph 3 – point c a (new): (ca) any previous infringements by the natural and legal person responsible for the violation.

RemovedArticle 23 – paragraph 4 a (new): 4a. Without prejudice to the penalties established in accordance with this Article and the application of Articles 107 and 108 TFUE, Member States may use incentives in order to guarantee the compliance of natural and legal persons with the obligations laid down in this Directive.

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. By (OP :please insert the date = 6 years after the date of entry into force of the Directive), the Commission shall carry out an evaluation of this Directive to assess the progress towards its objectives and the need to amend its provisions in order to adapt the requirements laid down in this Directive to ensure continuous progress towards all soils being healthy by 2050. This evaluation shall take into account, inter alia, the following elements:

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 1 – point c: (c) relevant scientific and analytical data, including results from research projects funded by the Union and by Member States;

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 1 – point d: (d) an analysis of the gap and measures needed to achieve healthy soils by 2050;

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 1 – point e – point ii: (ii) the establishment of criteria for soil descriptors listed in annex I;

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 1 – point e – point iii: (iii) the addition of new soil descriptors for monitoring purposes or the adjustment of existing soil descriptors and criteria in Annex I;

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 1 – point e a (new): (ea) an analysis of the monitoring designs provided for and threshold values set by Member States under this Directive.

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 1 – point e b (new): (eb) the socioeconomic impact of this Directive.

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 2: 2. The Commission shall present a report on the main findings of the evaluation referred to in paragraph 1 to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, and the Committee of the Regions, accompanied, where appropriate, by a legislative proposal.

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 2 a (new): 2a. From ... [OP :please insert the date = eight years from the date of entry into force of this Directive] and every five years thereafter, the Commission shall report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the implementation of this Directive including the measures necessary to comply with this Directive taken by Member States. The report shall include an overall assessment of the progress made towards achieving healthy soils.

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 2 b (new): 2b. By ... [OP :please insert the date = 6 years from the date of entry into force of the Directive], the Commission shall assess, as part of the assessment referred to in paragraph 1, the information collected in Member States regarding the occurrence, dispersion and values of soil contaminants, with a view to establishing a list of priority substances, followed by a watch list on soil contaminants, where appropriate.

RemovedArticle 24 a (new): Article 24a / European Union Soil Observatory (EUSO) Forum / The Commission shall, through the EUSO Forum, facilitate the cooperation at regular intervals between stakeholders, including Member States’ competent authorities at all relevant levels, industry, civil society, and the scientific community. The EUSO Forum shall facilitate the coordinated implementation of Union law and policies related to soil health monitoring and the improvement of soil health, inter alia by exchange of experience and good practices, including on sustainable soil management and regeneration practices, as well as exchange of experience on soil management practices to be avoided.

RemovedAnnex I – Title: SOIL DESCRIPTORS, CRITERIA AND METHODS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF SOIL ECOLOGICAL STATUS, AND LAND TAKE AND SOIL SEALING INDICATORS

RemovedText proposed by the Commision

RemovedIn case a Member State replaces the soil descriptor “bulk density in subsoil” with an equivalent parameter, it shall adopt a criterion for healthy soil condition for the chosen soil descriptor that is equivalent to the criterion set for “bulk density in subsoil”.

RemovedNon-managed soils in natural land areas

Removed_______________

Removed+ OP : please insert in the text the number of Regulation on nature restoration contained in document COM(2022) 304

Removed1 As defined in the FAO Guidelines for Soil Description, Chapter 5 (https://www.fao.org/3/a0541e/a0541e.pdf )

Removed2 As defined in Arshad, M.A., B. Lowery, and B. Grossman. 1996. Physical tests for monitoring soil quality. p.123- 142. In: J.W. Doran and A.J. Jones (eds.) Methods for assessing soil quality. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Spec. Publ. 49. SSSA, Madison, WI.

RemovedText proposed by the Commision

RemovedAnnex III – Title: INDICATIVE LIST OF SUSTAINABLE SOIL MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES

RemovedAnnex III – paragraph 1 – introductory part: The following principles are to be taken into account according to Article 10(1), point (a):

RemovedAnnex III – paragraph 1 – point b: (b) minimise physical soil disturbance and prevent soil degradation;

RemovedAnnex III – paragraph 1 – point c: (c) avoid inputs or release of non-certified substances and substances into soil that may harm human or animal health or the environment, or degrade soil health;

RemovedAnnex III – paragraph 1 – point d: (d) ensure that machinery use is adapted to the strength of the soil, and that the number and frequency of operations on soils are limited so that they do not compromise soil health, and do not lead to compaction over time;

RemovedAnnex III – paragraph 1 – point e: (e) when fertilization is applied, ensure adaptation to the needs of the plant and trees at the given location and in the given period, and to the condition of soil and prioritize circular solutions that enrich the organic content, with a view to improving the efficiency of nutrient use and achieving zero nutrient losses;

RemovedAnnex III – paragraph 1 – point f: (f) prioritise water retention and in case of irrigation, maximise efficiency of irrigation systems and irrigation management and ensure that when recycled wastewater is used, the water quality meets the requirements set out in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2020/741 of the European Parliament and of the Council14 and when water from other sources is used, it does not degrade soil health

RemovedAnnex III – paragraph 1 – point g: (g) ensure soil productivity by the creation and maintenance of adequate landscape features at the landscape level; for instance through buffer strips, field margins with native flowers, hedgerows, trees, copses, terrace walls, ponds, habitat corridors and stepping stones15

RemovedAnnex III – paragraph 1 – point i: (i) ensure optimised water levels in organic soils so that the structure and composition of such soils or their productivity are not negatively affected; 16

RemovedAnnex III – paragraph 1 – point i a (new): (ia) develop sustainable paludiculture practices;

RemovedAnnex III – paragraph 1 – point l a (new): (la) in case of land use change, avoid losses in the capacity of soils to provide ecosystem services.

RemovedAnnex IV – introductory part: The following indicative list of programmes, plans, targets and measures shall be taken into account:

RemovedAnnex IV – point 8 a (new): (8a) The national biodiversity strategies and action plans established in accordance with Article 6 of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

RemovedAnnex IV – point 14: (14) The national actions plans adopted in accordance with Article 4 of Directive 2009/128/EC. / (deleted)

RemovedI. Background

RemovedSoil is a precious, but very fragile, non-renewable and finite resource that is under increasing pressure. Only in the EU, its health is threatened among others by sealing, compaction, unsustainable soil management, erosion, floods and landslides, droughts, hydrogeological instability, loss of soil organic matter, fires, storms, salinisation, contamination, loss of soil biodiversity, acidification and desertification. Most of the ongoing degradation processes are not adequately addressed or are not addressed at all in existing EU and national legislation.

RemovedHealthy soils are a prerequisite to ensure a sustainable and resilient economy, society and environment as they increase our resilience to climate change, to extreme weather events, drought and floods, store and filter water, provide services such as provision of food and biomass for bioeconomy and support our well-being.

RemovedGiven the above mentioned and the fact that it can take up to 1 000 years to produce just 1 centimetre of top soil, which can be lost with just one heavy rainfall if it is not protected, there is an urgent need to ensure adequate monitoring of soil health and concrete measures to be taken by Member States to ensure healthy soils by 2050.

RemovedBy this proposal, the Commission respected to vast extent the call of the European Parliament to design an EU-wide common legal framework, with full respect for the subsidiarity principle, for the protection and sustainable use of soil, addressing all major soil threats.

RemovedII. Position of the rapporteur

RemovedChapter I: General provisions

RemovedThe rapporteur considers that due to the urgency related to the state of soil in the EU, the overall target to achieve healthy soils in the EU by 2050 should be binding, with flexibility being given to the Member States in the measures taken to ensure improvement and increasing trends in soils health. Intermediate targets in 2040 may be set, depending on the progress done by the Member States, following the first assessment by the European Commission.

RemovedThe rapporteur welcomes the bottom-up approach taken by the Commission when proposing Soil Districts, giving sufficient flexibility to the Member States, while ensuring homogeneity based on environmental conditions. Nevertheless, he suggests closer sharing of knowledge and coordinated approach in neighbouring countries with the same soils, as sometimes more similarities can be found between two countries than between districts in one Member State. The Commission should assist to this aim inter alia by setting up a working group, whose role would also be to boost synergies and to facilitate harmonisation of monitoring systems across the Union. In addition, the rapporteur proposes following to assist the Member States and improve exchange of practices, knowledge and better use of resources:

Removed- Article 6a (new) on Efficient use and preservation of soil samples that shall ensure that samples taken in field are used to generate as much information as possible at the time of extraction or in the future, including for further research and innovations.

Removed- Development of Sustainable Soil Management Toolbox (Article 10a new) that would serve as a living tool where context-specific information and best practices could be found.

Removed- That the Commission provides the necessary capacity building, assistance and consulting services to Member States, including with regard to their monitoring initiatives.

RemovedChapter II: Monitoring and assessment of soil health

RemovedAssessment of soil health based on 5 ecological classes

RemovedThe rapporteur is proposing a different approach to be taken to assess soil health by moving from classification of soils as healthy or unhealthy in Article 9, to a more gradual approach inspired by the Water Framework Directive, that is familiar to Member States. Therefore, he incorporates in the respective articles 6 to 9, monitoring and assessment of ecological status distinguishing 5 classes of soils (from critically degraded to high ecological status). The soils will be considered healthy if they fall in the two best categories -i.e. having “high soil ecological status” or “good ecological status”. For soils that will fall within “moderate”, “degraded soils” or “critically degraded soils”, a realistic timeline to move to a better category is proposed. Soil Districts are not obliged, but encouraged to establish coherent Soil District Plans setting up measures applicable on their territory to ensure improvement of soil ecological status, or to achieve improvement of soils in view achieving the 2050 target for healthy soils, by other means. He believes that the Soil Districts shall aim at inclusive internal processes empowering local citizens, lands owners, farmers, researchers and other stakeholders to actively participate and contribute to achieving the overall objective.

RemovedMonitoring design underpinning the assessment of soils

RemovedThe rapporteur gives more flexibility to Member States in their choice of monitoring design, ensuring balance between harmonisation of soil monitoring systems for comparison of results and keeping them the possibility to use and build on their existing monitoring systems (e.g. those using systematic stratifier as an alternative to stratified random sampling). Member States are asked to follow at least Tier I approach that builds on the Commission's proposal. Nevertheless, they can benefit from autonomy when selecting the most appropriate Tier for the soil monitoring design and the respective assessment on their territory, provided that they meet the conditions laid down in Annex I for the Tiers. Tiers I, II and III encompass a balanced range of soil descriptors (their thresholds to be differentiated for all 5 soil ecological status groups, taking into consideration local conditions) introduced gradually following the respective Tiers.

RemovedThe rapporteur deletes the values proposed by the Commission that would lead to a classification of soils either as healthy or unhealthy. He proposes a more nuanced approach with values to be set for Tier I & Tier II for the five-level classification explained above. Member States choosing Tier II approach, may benefit from bigger flexibility in the sampling design and should be able to establish their own threshold values for the assessment of soils, assuming a maximum variation of 20 % from the EU-set thresholds. Therefore, they will be allowed to refine the classification and mapping of soil ecological status within their border. Nevertheless, they will have to include additional descriptors in their monitoring compared to Tier I.

RemovedChapter III: Sustainable soil management

RemovedThe rapporteur welcomes that the European Commission reflected on the calls of the Parliament and introduced, in Annex III, the principles of sustainable soil management that should be further defined by the Member States. Additionally, he recognizes the added value of future definitions of practices which affect the state of soil negatively.

RemovedHe believes that it is of importance that Member States facilitate the up-take of sustainable soil management practices in all soil districts without exception, to leave no soil and soil district behind. This would be achieved not only via necessary access to training, capacity building, and citizen science, but also via the introduction of the Sustainable Soil Management Toolbox, which should become an essential tool for sharing best practices across soil districts and Member States.

RemovedChapter IV: Contaminated sites, point source and diffuse pollution

RemovedAccording to the European Environment Agency (EEA), around 300 000 contaminated sites in Europe still require clean-up. As exposure to contamination from soil may lead to serious health diseases and as it is challenging to ensure safe redevelopment of contaminated sites, decontamination (in or ex-situ remediation) should be always considered, when feasible. The costs of implementation of risk reduction measures should be covered by the polluter responsible for contamination, in line with the polluter pays principle. Finally, the rapporteur believes that the Member States shall involve human health organisations in the process of identification of contaminated sites as well as in the assessment of what constitutes an (un)acceptable risk and measures to be taken to ensure protection.

RemovedIn addition, in line with the EP´s resolution on soil protection, the Directive should reflect the scientific evidence and provide a framework to tackle diffuse soil contaminants and contaminants of emergency concerns, such as PFAS or materials like microplastics. The rapporteur therefore believes that following the first monitoring done by the Member States and based on the collected data on the EU and Member States level, an EU list of priority substances could be developed, together with a watch list to improve information on substances when more data is needed. It should be noted that the European Commission committed in the European Soil Strategy for 2030 to the establishment of an EU priority list for contaminants of major and/or emerging concern by 2024.

RemovedFinally, the rapporteur introduces a procedure that allows submission of evidence such as human biomonitoring data, by a natural or legal person, to be considered for possible action (e.g. adoption of risk mitigation measures or update of list of contaminated sites).

RemovedChapter V: Financing

RemovedGiven the urgency of action, the rapporteur invites the Member States to seek and use available resources. He invites the Commission to monitor and to help increase the absorption capacity of Member States to achieve results on the ground swiftly. He considers that a permanent dedicated budget line should be established for the financing of monitoring under the Multiannual Financial Framework. Understanding the importance of private capital mobilisation and policy coherence, he wishes to engage the European Investment Bank to facilitate the use of innovative mechanisms and the Do No Significant Harm principle to be observed as general rule.

RemovedChapter VII: Access to justice and review

RemovedEffective participation of local stakeholders, availability of information, free of charge and in an accessible form and transparency is an important aspect of this Directive that enables monitoring of progress towards achieving healthy soils by 2050. Rapporteur inserts to Article 22 provision that should disallow additional procedural standing rules, that would restrict access to justice e.g. in cases when public would not participate in preceding public consultation, against the provisions of Aarhus Convention.