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Changes between two versions

What changed between the plenary report and the adopted text

From · plenary report· 20 Oct 2025

A-10-2025-0204

on the Council position 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)

To · adopted text· 10 Apr 2024

TA-9-2024-0204

Soil Monitoring and Resilience (Soil Monitoring Directive)

These two texts have too little in common to compare paragraph by paragraph: they are different documents rather than versions of one (for example one group’s motion and the joint text that was adopted).

+514 added · −14 removed · 3 changed paragraphs, packaging included.

Part 7 of 10: Paragraphs 332–391

Added: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. [Am. 156]

Added: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. [Am. 157]

Added:6. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 20 to amend Annexes V and VI to adapt the list of risk reduction measures and the requirements for site-specific risk assessment to scientific and technical progress.

Added:Article 16 Register

Added:1. By … (OP : please insert date = 4 years after entry into force of the Directive), Member States shall, in accordance with paragraph 2, draw up a register of contaminated sites and potentially contaminated sites.

Added:2. The register shall contain the information set out in Annex VII.

Added:3. The register shall be managed by the responsible competent authority and shall be regularly kept under review and up to date.

Added:4. 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 Council are fulfilled. [Am. 158]

Added:The register shall be made available in an online georeferenced spatial database.

Added:5. The Commission shall by ... [OP : please insert date = 1 year from the entry into force of this 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. [Am. 159]

Added:Chapter V Financing, information to the public and reporting by Member States

Added:Article 17 Union and Member States' financing [Am. 160]

Added: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 shall be supported by existing Union financial programmes in accordance with their applicable rules and conditions. [Am. 161]

Added: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. [Am. 162]

Added: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. [Am. 163]

Added: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. [Am. 164]

Added: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. [Am. 165]

Added: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. [Am. 166]

Added: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. [Am. 167]

Added:Article 18 Reporting by Member States

Added:1. Member States shall electronically report the following data and information to the Commission and to the EEA at least every 56 years: [Am. 168]

Added:(a) the data and results of the soil health monitoring and assessment carried out in accordance with Articles 6 to 9;

Added:(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; [Am. 169]

Added:(c) a summary of the progress on:

Added:(i) implementing sustainable soil management principles in accordance with Article 10;

Added:(ii) the registration, identification, investigation, and management of contaminated sites in accordance with Articles 12 to 16;

Added:(d) the data and information contained in the register referred to in Article 16.

Added:The first reports shall be submitted by … (OP: please insert date = 56 years and 6 months after entry into force of the Directive). [Am. 171]

Added:2. Member States shall ensure that the Commission and the EEA have permanent access to the information and data referred to in paragraph 1.

Added:3. Member States shall provide the Commission with online access to the following:

Added:(a) an up-to-date list and spatial data of their soil districts referred to in Article 4 by … (OP: please insert the date = 2 years and 312 months after date of entry into force of the Directive) and, where available, their respective soil district plans; [Am. 172]

Added:(b) an up-to-date list of the competent authorities referred to in Article 5 by … (OP: please insert the date = 2 years and 312 months after date of entry into force of the Directive); [Am. 173]

Added:(c) the measures and sustainable soil management practices referred to in Article 10 by… (OP: please insert the date = 4 years and 3 months after date of entry into force of the Directive);

Added:(ca) the measurements of the soil descriptors at the level of the sampling point. [Am. 174]

Added:4. The Commission is empowered to adopt implementing acts establishing the format and the modalities for submitting the information referred to paragraph 1 of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 21.

Added:Article 19 Information to the public

Added:1. Member States shall make public the data generated by the monitoring carried out under Article 8 and the assessmentassessments 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 Council for geographically explicit data and Article 5 of Directive (EU) 2019/1024 for other data. [Am. 175]

Added:2. The Commission shall ensure that relevant soil health data made accessible through the digital soil health data portal referred to in Article 6 is available to the public only with the express permission of the landowner and land manager, in an aggregated and anonymised form, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of theCouncil and Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council. [Am. 231]

Added:3. Member States shall ensure that the relevant information referred to in Article 18 of this Directive is available and accessible to the public only with the express permission of the landowner and land manager, in an aggregated and anonymised form, in accordance with Directive 2003/4/EC, Directive 2007/2/EC and Directive (EU) 2019/1024 of the Parliament and of the Council. [Am. 232]

Added:4. Disclosure of any information required under this Directive may be refused or restricted where the conditions laid down in Article 4 of Directive 2003/4/EC are fulfilled.

Added: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. [Am. 176]

Added:Chapter VI Delegation and Committee procedure

Added:Article 20 Exercise of the delegation

Added:1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

Added:2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Articles 8, 10, 15 and 169 and 15 shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from the date of entry into force of this Directive. [Am. 177]

Added:3. The delegation of power referred to in Articles 8, 10, 15 and 169 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. [Am. 178]

Added:4. Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making.

Added:5. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

Added:6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Articles 8, 10, 15 and 169 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. [Am. 179]

Added:Article 21 Committee

Added:1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

Added:2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

Added:Chapter VII Final provisions

Added:Article 22 Access to justice

Added:Member States shall ensure that members of the public, in accordance with national law, that have a sufficient interest or that maintain the impairment of a right, have access to a review procedure before a court of law, or an independent and impartial body established by law, to challenge the substantive or procedural legality of the assessment of soil health, the measures taken pursuant to this Directive and any failures to act of the competent authorities.

Added: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. For the purposes of paragraph 1, any non-governmental organisation promoting environmental protection and meeting any requirements under national law 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 Directivebe deemed to have rights capable of being impaired and their interest shall be deemed sufficient. [Am. 180]

Added:Review procedures referred to in paragraph 1 shall be fair, equitable, timely and free of charge or not prohibitively expensive, and shall provide adequate and effective remedies, including injunctive relief where necessary.

Added:Member States shall ensure that practical information is made available to the public on access to the administrative and judicial review procedures referred to in this Article.

Added:Article 23 Penalties

Added:1. Without prejudice to the obligations of Member States under Directive 2008/99/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to violations by natural and legal persons, of the national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive and shall ensure that those rules are implemented. The penalties provided for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.