EU plans stricter regulations for soil quality

The European Commission is proposing that soils are given the same legal status as air and water as part of the EU’s “Soil Strategy for 2030”. The plan, which still requires the approval of the European Parliament and EU member states, would create the first European regulation to allow legal actions over soil degradation.

Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, tweeted: “Our land and soil are precious. Too often, for too long, they have been overlooked. Over 75% of land is already degraded. Let’s remember that the ground we walk on is the very thing that keeps us walking at all.”

Virginijus Sinkevicius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, said: “we must equip the EU with a robust soil policy that will allow us to reach our ambitious climate, biodiversity and food security goals, and step up our efforts to manage soil in a way that it can deliver for people, biodiversity and climate.”

EU member states blocked an attempt to create a European legal framework for soil protection in the European Council ten years ago, Euractiv recalls.

Source: EU Soil strategy proposal, Euractiv, EC Press release