Changes from adopted text to adopted text

RemovedP9_TA(2024)0204

AddedP10_TA(2025)0251

ChangedSoil Monitoring and Resilience (Soil Monitoring Directive)Law)

ChangedCommittee on the Environment, Public HealthClimate and Food Safety

RemovedPE754.698

AddedPE778.280

ChangedEuropean Parliament legislative resolution of 1023 AprilOctober 20242025 on the proposalCouncil forposition at first reading with a view to the adoption of a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on Soil Monitoring and Resilience (Soil Monitoring Law) (COM(2023)0416(09474/1/2025 – C9-0234/2023C10-0229/2025 – 2023/0232(COD))

Changed(Ordinary legislative procedure: firstsecond reading)

The European Parliament,

Changed– having regard to the CommissionCouncil proposalposition toat Parliamentfirst andreading the(09474/1/2025 Council– (COM(2023)0416),C100229/2025),

Removed– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 192(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C90234/2023),

Removed– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to the reasoned opinion submitted, within the framework of Protocol No 2 on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, by the Netherlands Senate and the Netherlands House of Representatives asserting that the draft legislative act does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 25 October 2023,

Change 1

Removed– after consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Added– having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 19 June 2024,

Removed– having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

Added– having regard to its position at first reading on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2023)0416),

Changed– having regard to theArticle opinion294(7) of the CommitteeTreaty on Agriculturethe andFunctioning Ruralof Development,the European Union,

Changed– having regard to the reportprovisional ofagreement approved by the Committeecommittee onresponsible theunder Environment,Rule Public75(4) Healthof andits FoodRules Safetyof (A9-0138/2024),Procedure,

Change 2

Removed1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

Added– having regard to Rule 68 of its Rules of Procedure,

Removed2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

Added– having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety (A10-0204/2025),

Added1. Approves the Council position at first reading;

Added2. Notes that the act is adopted in accordance with the Council position;

Added3. Instructs its President to sign the act with the President of the Council, in accordance with Article 297(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

Added4. Instructs its Secretary-General to sign the act, once it has been verified that all the procedures have been duly completed, and, in agreement with the Secretary-General of the Council, to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;

5. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Change 3

RemovedP9_TC1-COD(2023)0232

RemovedPosition of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 10 April 2024 with a view to the adoption of Directive (EU) 2024/… of the European Parliament and of the Council on Soil Monitoring and Resilience (Soil Monitoring Law)

RemovedTHE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

RemovedHaving regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 192(1) thereof,

RemovedHaving regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

RemovedAfter transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

RemovedHaving regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee,

RemovedHaving regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions,

RemovedActing in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,

RemovedWhereas:

Removed(1) Soil is a vital, limited, non-renewable and irreplaceable resource that is crucial for the economy, the environment and the society.

Removed(2) Healthy soils are in good chemical, biological and physical condition so that they can provide ecosystem services that are vital to humans and the environment, such as safe, nutritious and sufficient food, biomass, clean water, nutrients cycling, carbon storage and a habitat for biodiversity. Soil is essential to ensuring food security. However, it is estimated that 60 to 70 % of the soils in the Union are deteriorated and continue to deteriorate. [Am. 1]

Removed(3) Soil degradation is costing the Union several tens of billion euro every year. Soil health is impacting the provision of ecosystem services that have an important economic return. Sustainable management and regeneration of soils thereforeIts improvement makes sound economic sense and can significantly increase the price and value of the land in the Union. Moreover, it can take up to 1 000 years to produce just 1 centimetre of top soil, while the degradation process and complete loss of soil can happen rapidly. [Am. 2]

Removed(4) The European Green Deal has set out an ambitious roadmap to transform the Union into a fair and prosperous society, with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy, aiming to protect, conserve and enhance the Union’s natural capital, and to protect the health and well-being of citizens. As part of the European Green Deal, the Commission has adopted the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Farm to Fork Strategy, the Zero Pollution Action Plan, the EU Climate Adaptation Strategy and the EU Soil Strategy for 2030.

Removed(5) The Union is committed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Healthy soils contribute directly to the achievement of several SDGs, in particular SDG 2 (zero hunger), SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities), SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production), SDG 13 (climate action) and SDG 15 (life on land). SDG 15.3 aims to combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world by 2030.

Removed(6) The Union and its Member States, as parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, approved by Council Decision 93/626/EEC, agreed at the 15th Conference of the Parties on the “Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework” (GBF) which comprises several action-oriented global targets for 2030 of relevance for soil health. Nature’s contributions to people, including soil health, should be restored, maintained and enhanced.

Removed(7) The Union and its Member States, as Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), approved by Council Decision 98/216/EC, have committed to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought in affected countries. Thirteen Member States have declared themselves as parties affected by desertification under the UNCDD.

Removed(8) In the context of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) land and soil is considered simultaneously as a source and a sink of carbon. The Union and Member States as parties have committed to promote sustainable management, conservation and enhancement of carbon sinks and reservoirs.

Removed(9) The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 states that it is essential to step up efforts to protect soil fertility, reduce soil erosion and increase soil organic matter by adopting sustainable soil management practices. It also states that significant progress is needed on identifying contaminated soil sites, restoring degraded soils, defining the conditions for good ecological status of soils, introducing restoration objectives, and improving the monitoring of soil health.

Removed(10) The EU Soil Strategy for 2030 sets the long-term vision that by 2050, all EU soil ecosystems are in healthy condition and are thus more resilient. As a key solution, healthy soils contribute to address the EU’s goals of achieving climate neutrality and becoming resilient to climate change, developing a clean and circular (bio)economy, reversing biodiversity loss, safeguarding human health, halting desertification and reversing land degradation.

Removed(11) Funding is vital to enable a transition to healthy soils. The Multiannual Financial Framework presents several funding opportunities available for the protection, sustainable management and regeneration of soils. A ‘Soil Deal for Europe’ is one of the five EU missions of the Horizon Europe programme and is specifically dedicated to promoting soil health. The Soil Mission is a key instrument for the implementation of this Directive. It aims to lead the transition to healthy soils through funding an ambitious research and innovation programme, establishing a network of 100 living labs and lighthouses in rural and urban areas, advancing the development of a harmonized soil monitoring framework and increasing the awareness of the importance of soil. Other Union programmes that present objectives contributing to healthy soils are the Common Agricultural Policy, the Cohesion Policy funds, the Programme for Environment and Climate Action, the Horizon Europe work programme, the Technical Support Instrument, the Recovery and Resilience Facility and InvestEU. As the goal to have all soils within the Union in healthy status is of common interest, there is a need to increase the mobilisation of resources to support the uptake of sustainable soil management and regenerative practices, including through provision of support from the European Investment Bank via de-risking mechanisms. The Commission should assess the overall financial needs and gaps and if needed put in place for the post-2027 period additional financial resources under the Multiannual Financial Framework and adopt measures to ensure policy coherence in relation to the objectives of this Directive. [Am. 3]

Removed(12) The Soil Strategy for 2030 announced that the Commission would table a legislative proposal on soil health to enable the objectives of the Soil Strategy and to achieve good soil health across the EU by 2050. In its resolution of 28 April 2021 on soil protection, the European Parliament emphasised the importance of protecting soil and promoting healthy soils in the Union, bearing in mind that the degradation continues, despite the limited and uneven action being taken in some Member States. The European Parliament called on the Commission to design a Union wide common legal framework, with full respect for the subsidiarity principle, for the protection and sustainable use of soil, addressing all major soil threats. Importantly, the European Parliament underlined the risks stemming from the absence of a level playing field between Member States and their different protection regimes for soil to the functioning of the internal market and the strong potential to stimulate fair competition in the private sector, develop innovative solutions and know-how and strengthen the export of technologies outside the Union. [Am. 4]

Removed(13) In its conclusions of 23 October 2020, the Council supported the Commission in stepping up efforts to better protect soils and soil biodiversity, as a non-renewable resource of vital importance.

Removed(14) Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council sets out a binding objective of climate neutrality in the Union by 2050 and negative emissions thereafter, and of prioritising swift and predictable emission reductions and, at the same time, enhancing removals by natural sinks. Sustainable soil management results in increased carbon sequestration and in most cases in co-benefits for ecosystems and biodiversity. The Commission’s Communication on Sustainable Carbon Cycles underlined the need for clear and transparent identification of the activities that unambiguously remove carbon from the atmosphere such as the development of a EU framework for the certification of carbon removals from natural ecosystems including soils. Moreover, the revised Regulation on Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry not only places soil carbon central to the achievement of targets on the pathway to a climate neutral Europe, but also calls for Member States to prepare a system for the monitoring of soil carbon stocks, using, inter alia, the land use/cover area frame statistical survey (LUCAS) dataset.

Removed(15) The Commission’s Communication on adaptation to climate change underlined that using nature-based solutions inland, including the restoration of the sponge-like function of soils, will boost the supply of clean and fresh water, reduce the impacts of flooding and alleviate the impacts of droughts. It is important to maximise the capacity of soils to retain and purify water and reduce pollution.

Removed(16) The Zero Pollution Action Plan adopted by the Commission sets out the vision for 2050 that air, water and soil pollution is reduced to levels no longer considered harmful to health and natural ecosystems and that respect the boundaries our planet can cope with, thus creating a toxic-free environment.

Removed(17) The Commission’s Communication on safeguarding food security and reinforcing the resilience of food systems stressed that food sustainability is fundamental for food security. Healthy soils make the Union food system more resilient by providing the basis for nutritious and sufficient food.

Removed(18) It is necessaryvital to set appropriate measures for Union-wide harmonised monitoring and assessingassessment 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. [Am. 5]

Removed(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). [Am. 6]

Removed(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. [Am. 7]

Removed(20) Floods, wildfires and extreme weather events are natural disaster risks of the highest concern across Europe. The concern for droughts and water scarcity is rapidly increasing across the Union. In 2020, 24 Member States considered droughts and water scarcity to be key emerging or climate related disaster risks, compared to only 11 Member States in 2015. Healthy soils are instrumental for the resilience to droughts and natural disasters. Practices that enhance water retention and nutrient availability in soils, soil structure, soil biodiversity and carbon sequestration, increase the resilience of ecosystems, plants and crops to withstand and recover from drought, natural disasters, heatwaves and extreme weather events which will become more frequent in the future due to climate change. In turn, without proper soil management, drought and natural disasters cause soil degradation and make soils unhealthy. Improvement of soil health helps to mitigate the economic losses and fatalities associated with climate-related extremes, which amounted to approximately 560 billion EUR and more than 182.000 casualties in the Union between 1980 and 2021.