What changed between the draft committee report of 24 Oct 2023 and the draft committee report of 14 Oct 2025

Removed:Recital 12: (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 protection42 , 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 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 of the legal framework to stimulate fair competition in the private sector, develop innovative solutions and know-how and strengthen the export of technologies outside the Union.

Removed:Recital 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.

Removed:Recital 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 microorganisms, 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 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).

Removed:Recital 23: (23) The long-term objective of the Directive is to achieve a target of 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. It also includes requirements to lay down measures to manage soils sustainably and regenerate soils, where appropriate, to achieve 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, including the setting of intermediate targets for 2040 if necessary, to accelerate progress towards 2050.

Removed:Recital 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, which 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 Council49. Soil districts in which soil is classified as critically degraded, degraded or in moderate ecological status are best placed to set up programmes of measures, 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 cl…

Removed:Deletion of reference to the EC proposal, as the reference to the additional Regulation that is still under negotiations does not seem to provide added value to this Directive.

Removed:Recital 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. 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.

Removed:Recital 27: (27) In order to describe soil degradation it is necessary to establish soil descriptors that can be measured or estimated. Even if there is significant variability between soil types, climatic conditions and land uses, the current scientific knowledge allows to set criteria at Union level for some of those soil descriptors. However, Member States should be able to adapt the criteria for some of these soil descriptors based on specific national or local conditions and define the criteria for other soil descriptors for which common criteria at EU level cannot be established at this stage. The overall assessment of soil should be based on its ecological status, which should 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.

Removed:Recital 28: (28) In order to create incentives, Member States should set up mechanisms to recognize the efforts of landowners and land managers to maintain the soil in healthy condition, including in the form of soil health certification complementary to the Union regulatory framework for carbon removals. The Commission should facilitate soil health certification by inter alia setting a harmonised format and minimum quality standards for such soil health certification, common principles to ensure there is a level playing field as well as exchanging information and promoting best practices, raising awareness and assessing the use and feasibility of developing recognition of certification schemes at Union level. Synergies between different certification schemes should be exploited as much as possible to reduce administrative burden for those applying for relevant certifications. / (deleted)

Removed:The intention of this addition in the recital is unclear and provides little value for this Directive. The certification foreseen for healthy soils should not substitute obligations under the Directive (EU) 2018/2001. Furthermore, for the certification system for healthy soils to have real added value and not to lead to market segmentation, there is a need for setting at least harmonised governance and minimum quality criteria and rules for the use of soil health certification at EU level.

Removed:Recital 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 JRC, together with the Member States and the European Soil Observatory, ensures that the samples, DNA extract and raw data taken for the compliance with Union and national environmental law are preserved in physical archives and its samples and raw data remain open for further research and innovation.

Removed:Recital 32: (32) 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 take into account the soil health data surveyed under the enhanced LUCAS soil. LUCAS soil will sample and analysis at least 20 % of the size of national samples, thereby contributing to the monitoring carried out by Member States. 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, and in compliance with applicable national or Union legislation.

Removed:Recital 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 on soil health and to reduce the costs of soil measurements and monitoring.

Removed:The Commission and Member States should make the most of the existing technologies and methods that can improve soil monitoring, without doing any harm to either environmental or climate objectives, and therefore help implement this Directive.

Removed:Recital 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 Strategy and the EU data spaces and which should be a hub providing access to soil data coming from various sources. Those data should be made publicly available in a format that can be used by the research community and the public. That portal should primarily include all the 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.

Removed:To implement Art.10, an up-to-date toolbox with information about the effects of the practices on various ecosystem services and soil threats, their context specific applicability (based on soil type, land use and climatic conditions) is proposed. The database should be supplemented with new information from research, such as from the Soil Mission EU and the EJP on Agricultural Soil Management projects. The data should be publicly available, so that farmers, land managers, private and public entities, and others can use those to improve soil health.

Removed:Recital 35: (35) It is also necessary to improve the harmonization of soil monitoring systems used in the Member States, 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.

Removed:Recital 36: (36) In order to make the widest possible use of soil health data generated by the monitoring carried out under this Directive, Member States should be required to facilitate the access to such data for relevant stakeholders such as farmers, foresters, land owners, advisors working within the farm advisory system and local authorities.

Removed:Recital 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, climate change mitigation and adaptation, pollution prevention and control and food security. It is therefore appropriate to lay down sustainable soil management principles to guide soil management practices.

Removed:Recital 39: (39) Pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council52 , Member States have to describe in their CAP Strategic Plans how the environmental and climate architecture of those Plans is meant to contribute to the achievement of, and be consistent with, the long-term national targets set out in, or deriving from, the legislative acts listed in Annex XIII to that Regulation. This Directive should be added to that list of legislative acts when, in accordance with Article 159 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, the Commission reviews it by 31 December 2025.

Removed:Recital 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 Council53 +, 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/EEC54 , the conservation measures and prioritized action framework established for Natura 2000 sites in accordance with Council Directive 92/43/EEC55 , 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 Council56 , the flood risk management measures established in accordance with Directive 2007/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council57 , the drought management plans promoted in the Union Strategy on Adaptation to C…

Removed:Reflects addition to Annex IV on Programmes, plans, targets and measures referred to in Article 10.

Removed:Recital 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 at least 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 positive. 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 site-specific risks of contaminated sites. Member St…

Removed:Recital 47: deleted / (deleted)

Removed:The reference has no value in the legislation as there is no link to the legislation or paragraph related to it in the operational part of the Directive.

Removed:Recital 48 a (new): (48a) In order to ensure the protection of soils from pollution by emerging chemicals that have the potential to cause significant risks to human 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.

Removed:Recital 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 basic 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 provides 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 set of measures to prevent and remediate soil contamination from known and emerging threats.

Removed:Recital 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 need to set more specific requirements and intermediate targets for 2040 to make sure unhealthy soils are regenerated and the objective to achieve healthy soils by 2050 is met. 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.

Removed:Intermediate targets should be considered to facilitate reaching the overall objective of healthy soils by 2050.

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 1: 1. The objective of the Directive is to put in place a solid and coherent soil monitoring framework for all soils across the EU and to continuously improve soil health in the Union to achieve healthy soils by 2050 and maintain soils in healthy condition, 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 to ensure that by 2050 all soils are in a healthy condition.

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 1 a (new): 1a. This Directive contributes to fulfilling international and Union commitments, including: / (a) 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; / (b) to achieve the ‘no net land take by 2050’ target and reduce erosion, increase soil organic carbon, and progress with remedial work; / (c) to manage land sustainably in the Union, protect soils adequately, and make sure that the remediation of contaminated sites is well underway;

Removed:Commitments stemming from the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in particular SDG 15, the EU’s biodiversity strategy for 2030, Decision No 1386/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 November 2013 on a General Union Environment Action Programme to 2020 ‘Living well, within the limits of our planet’.

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point a: (a) monitoring and assessment of soil health, based on its ecological status;

Removed:Specification following the newly introduced soil ecological classes.

Removed:Article 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’ for soils with high biological and functional activity and structure; / (b) ‘good soil ecological status’ for soils in an overall good ecological status but that show evidence of slight adverse impacts from one or multiple degradation factor; / (c) ‘moderate soil ecological status’ for soils with evidence of slight adverse impacts from one or multiple degradation factors; / (d) ‘degraded soils’ for soils with clear evidence of adverse impacts from one degradation factor; and / (e) ‘critically degraded soils’ for soils with clear evidence of adverse impacts from more than one degradation factor.

Removed:The definition of "ecological status", ranging from "critically degraded soils" to "high soil ecological status" is linked to the proposed modification of the binary approach proposed by the Commission in Article 9 (Assessment of the soil health) to a more gradual and nuanced assessment of the state of the soil, as applied also in the Water Framework Directive.

Removed:Article 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.

Removed:Article 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 and other benefits that people derive from those ecosystems;

Removed:Article 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 from soil micro-habitats to landscapes.

Removed:The Directive lays down measures on monitoring soil biodiversity. Therefore, a definition of "soil biodiversity" according to the FAO and following the definition of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is inserted.

Removed:Article 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;

Removed:Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 5: (5) ‘sustainable soil management’ means soil and land management practices that maintain or enhance 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;

Removed:A highly performant ecosystem service system does not necessarily imply an optimal biodiversity pool, e.g. positive effect of Acacia dealbata sp. on the retention of dunes with negative consequences for local biodiversity and fire risk (a complete degradation of biodiversity and a dramatic increase of fire risk). The addition of soil biodiversity in the definition is thus necessary to meet the overall goal of this Directive: achieve healthy soils.

Removed:Article 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, land users, as well as non-governmental organisations promoting the protection of human health or the environment and meeting any requirements under national law.

Removed:Article 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;

Removed:Both definitions for ‘public’ and ‘public concerned' should be included, as public participation provisions refer to ‘public concerned’ and access to justice provisions refer to the ‘public’. The definition of ‘public’ is according to Directive 2003/35/EC providing for public participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment and amending with regard to public participation and access to justice Council Directives 85/337/EEC and 96/61/EC.

Removed:Article 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 to harmful effects on human health or the environment;

Removed:The definition reflects that not all soil contaminants are substances or chemicals (e.g plastics). The new definition therefore better reflects the nature of soil contamination and is more forward looking, allowing for the incorporation of other contaminants by the Member States.

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

Removed:Article 4 – paragraph 2 a (new): 2a. Member States shall ensure that soil districts of neighbouring Member States where there are similar values for the parameters referred to paragraph 2, points (a) to (d), cooperate, where appropriate, with each other to exchange best practices and to ensure that a coherent approach is taken across borders.

Removed:Article 4 – paragraph 2 b (new): 2b. The Commission shall, by setting up a dedicated working group, actively support Member States in complying with their obligation to ensure cross-border cooperation of their soil districts 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.

Removed:The Commission should create synergies and actively facilitate cooperation and smooth implementation of the Directive and its monitoring framework in soil districts across neighboring countries, specifically because of the special situation of these districts.

Removed:Article 5 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall by ... [OP: please insert the date = 12 months from the date of entry into force of this Directive] designate the competent authorities responsible at an appropriate level for carrying out the duties laid down in this Directive.

Removed:The Directive is to be transposed by 24 months after the date of entry into force of this Directive. Nevertheless, to ensure that the soil districts, together with their respective competent authorities, are going to be established in an inclusive process, there is a need to designate a competent authority responsible for the internal process and coordination, prior to their establishment.

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

Removed:Article 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 authorisation and support to the Commission in order to ensure that the Commission can carry out such in-situ soil sampling.

Removed:Engagement between the Commission (JRC and LUCAS soil) and the Member States to the take samples in different countries would promote training and capacity building when needed in each country. Member States will by involving relevant authorities and research institutions take full advantage of existing programs and local knowledge and improve the link between national and EU monitoring projects.

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

Removed:To implement Art.10, an up-to-date toolbox with information about the effects of the practices on various ecosystem services and soil threats, their context specific applicability (based on soil type, land use and climatic conditions) is proposed. The database should be supplemented with new information from research, such as from the Soil Mission EU and the EJP on Agricultural Soil Management projects. The data should be publicly available, so that farmers, land managers, private and public entities, and others can use those to improve soil health.

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 8 a (new): 8a. The Commission shall provide to Member States the necessary capacity building, assistance and consulting servicesand support their monitoring initiatives, multilateral harmonisation of regulations, methods and archives, and thereby close existing data gaps and workflow bottlenecks by sharing common expertise. The Commission shall set up a permanent governance mechanism to that end, which shall buildon, inter alia, the Soil BON initiative.

Removed:Necessary support should be provided to Member States to put in place the first defined EU-wide soil monitoring framework. A permanent governance mechanism should be considered, in order to facilitate sharing expertise, closing gaps, etc. Soil BON partnership is an existing example of such multidisciplinary cooperation addressing capacity building needs from observations to informatics, helping to integrate existing and new field data following agreed international standards: https://geobon.org/bons/thematic-bon/soil-bon/

Removed:Article 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 implement measures to ensure that the physical archives of soils, DNA extracts and the digital archive of raw data, at both Union and Member State 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.

Removed:The soil archives of the Commission and Member States have untapped potential that can be used among others for: 1) technological progress, such as new analytical methods that allow additional information to be generated from samples, 2) savings: sample collection is often one of the most expensive components of projects, thus archiving samples can be a cost-effective approach to facilitate scientific progress, 3) as a reference-point for to track progress.

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

Removed:Change reflects newly proposed approach: 5 soil ecological classes.

Removed:Article 7 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 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.

Removed:Following the proposed change to assess ecological status of soil, Member States may benefit from autonomy when selecting the most appropriate Tier for their soil monitoring design and assessment, provided that the conditions laid down in Annex I for the Tier that a Member State applies are met. Tiers I, II and III encompass a balanced and gradual range of soil descriptors (their thresholds to be differentiated for all 5 soil ecological status groups, considering local conditions).

Removed:Article 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 follow at least all the criteria for soil monitoring design and soil descriptors in Part A of Annex I.

Removed:Amendment reflects the adapted soil monitoring framework in Annex 1.

Removed:Article 7 – paragraph 4: deleted

Removed:Deletion reflects the newly introduced approach in Annex 1.

Removed:Article 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 B, C and D of Annex I, for monitoring purposes.

Removed:Change reflects the newly introduced approach in Annex I.

Removed:Article 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.

Removed:Article 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.

Removed:Change of Annex number and Tier selection is needed due to the change of approach in Annexes.

Removed:Article 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;

Removed:Article 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;

Removed:Article 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 Member State level with in-situ monitoring coordinated by the Commission, as required in Annex II, part B, fourth column.

Removed:Addition related to LUCAS survey.

Removed:Article 8 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1: Member States shall ensure that new soil measurements are performed at least every 5 years. Member States shall also facilitate soil monitoring being carried out at shorter intervals to facilitate in-situ soil monitoring coordinated by the Commission.

Removed:LUCAS survey to be running at least each 3 years, as amended in Art. 6.4.

Removed:Article 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.

Removed:Amendment reflects the proposed change to assess ecological status of soil. Member States may benefit from autonomy when selecting the most appropriate Tier for the soil monitoring design and the respective assessment on their territory, provided that the conditions laid down in Annex I for the Tier that a Member State applies are met. 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.

Removed:Article 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.

Removed:Amendment reflects the proposed change to assess ecological status of soil.

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 3: Member States shall ensure that assessments of soil ecological status are performed at least every 5 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).

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

Removed:The rapporteur proposes to work with a more nuanced approach for the assessment of soil health. Instead of the proposed strictly binary approach (healthy versus unhealthy soil), ecological status of soil would be assessed, resulting into 5 different categories, taking into account local conditions.

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2: deleted

Removed:The rapporteur proposes to work with a more nuanced approach for the assessment of soil health. Instead of the proposed strictly binary approach (healthy versus unhealthy soil), ecological status of soil would be assessed, resulting into 5 different categories, taking into account local conditions.

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 3: deleted

Removed:The rapporteur proposes to work with a more nuanced approach for the assessment of soil health. Instead of the proposed strictly binary approach (healthy versus unhealthy soil), ecological status of soil would be assessed, resulting into 5 different categories, taking into account local conditions.

Removed:Article 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.

Removed:Following the proposed change to assess ecological status of soil, Member States may benefit from autonomy when selecting the most appropriate Tier for soil assessment and sampling on their territory. Tiers 1, 2 and 3 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.

Removed:Article 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 in high soil ecological status or good ecological status and inform the public in accordance with Article 19.

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 4 a (new): 4a. Soil districts shall consider establishing their soil district plans, including measures and targets to achieve measurable improvement of soil health conditions, taking into account the ecological status classification and obligations referred to in Article 7. The establishment of the soil district plans shall be the result of an inclusive process with local stakeholders. The soil district plans shall be made available online by the respective Member State.

Removed:Soil districts should be empowered to adopt own plans, according to their needs to ensure and enable proper bottom-up functioning when implementing this Directive.

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 4 b (new): 4b. Member States shall ensure that the ecological status classification of soils in the respective soil districts is improved within the following periods: / (a) 10 years for critically degraded soils; / (b) 6 years for degraded or moderate ecological status soils. / By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, Member States may apply different periods for soils registered as contaminated on condition that concrete management and mitigation plans with predefined timelines and concrete targets are in place.

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 4 c (new): 4c. The Commission shall establish, at the Union level, threshold values for all soil descriptors in Tiers 1 and 2 for soil monitoring design regarding the five-level classification of soil ecological status. When applying a Tier 2 for soil monitoring design, Member States may establish their own threshold values up to a variation of 20% in comparison to the threshold values established by the Commission, in order to refine the classification and mapping of soil ecological status within their territory.

Removed:The amendment follows the change in the overall assessment of soil health, for which different values for descriptors in Annex I for each of the 5 "classes/ecological status/" are needed. This will help to move from a binary (healthy vs. unhealthy) approach to more nuanced classification. Member States that will decide to opt for Tier II instead of Tier I, may refine the EU-set thresholds values up to 20 %.

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1: deleted

Removed:The Rapporteur proposes to reverse the logics of the proposed actions: the Commission should propose a harmonized format of soil health certification in the first stage. The agreed minimum quality standards will, during the second stage, facilitate the implementation in the Member States and prevent incompatibility across 27 Member States.

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 2: The Commission shall adopt implementing acts to establish a harmonised format for soil health certification and common principles for its minimum quality standards and for the governance of such certification. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 21.

Removed:The Rapporteur proposes to reverse the logics of the proposed actions: the Commission should propose a harmonized format of soil health certification in the first stage. The agreed minimum quality standards will, during the second stage, facilitate the implementation in the Member States and prevent incompatibility across 27 Member States.

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 2 a (new): Following the adoption of the implementing acts, Member States shall set up a mechanism for voluntary soil health certification for landowners and land managers within the meaning of paragraph 2 of this Article.

Removed:The Rapporteur proposes to reverse the logic of the proposed actions: the Commission should propose a harmonized format of soil health certification in the first stage. The agreed minimum quality standards will, during the second stage, facilitate the implementation in the Member States and prevent incompatibility across 27 Member States.

Removed:Article 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, in particular to support the development of the advice referred to in Article 10(3).

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part: From (OP: please insert the date = two years after date of entry into force of the Directive), Member States shall take at least the following measures, taking into account the geographical and climatic differences, type, use and condition of soil:

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a: (a) defining sustainable soil management practices respecting the sustainable soil management principles listed in Annex III to be gradually implemented on all managed soils, taking into consideration local conditions in the soil districts, and, on the basis of the outcome of the soil assessments carried out in accordance with Article 9, regeneration practices to be gradually implemented on the soils that are not considered healthy in the soil districts in the Member States;

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a a (new): (aa) use the Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC) on sustainable soil management practices (GAEC 5, 6 & 7), on climate change (GAEC 1, 2 & 3), on water (GAEC 4) and on biodiversity (GAEC 8 & 9) as a basis for the definition of sustainable soil management practices by each Member State in accordance with this paragraph.

Removed:This amendment provides for better link to the CAP legislation.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 4: Member States shall ensure that the process of elaboration and review of the practices referred to in the first subparagraph is open, inclusive and effective and that the public concerned, in particular experts, landowners, land managers and civil society, are involved and are given early and effective opportunities to participate in their elaboration, when all options are still open.

Removed:All relevant stakeholders should be involved throughout the whole drafting process, not only at its end after the decision was made.

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

Removed:The intention of this addition is to ensure that all Soil Districts, including remote ones, will have an access to the advice (i.e. that the advisory service is not going to be centralized in the capitals of the Member States or that stakeholders will be prevented to access it due to long distance).

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 – point a: (a) promoting awareness on the medium- and long-term multiple benefits of sustainable soil management and the need to manage soils in a sustainable manner, including by making available a list of the soil management and regeneration practices defined in accordance with paragraph 1;

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 – point b: (b) promoting research, citizen science and implementation of holistic soil management concepts;

Removed:Citizens can actively contribute to achievement of this Directive. E.g. under the Horizon research project ECHO citizens help with data collection and promotion of soil stewardship. One of its results will also be an open access repository, including available citizen science data to be used by farmers, land users, researchers, etc. The citizen science provides valuable information about the state of soil health in various regions, helping them to make informed decisions about land use and conservation.

Removed:Article 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.

Removed:Citizens can actively contribute to achievement of this Directive. E.g. under the Horizon research project ECHO citizens help with data collection and promotion of soil stewardship. One of its results will also be an open access repository, including available citizen science data to be used by farmers, land users, researchers, etc. The citizen science provides valuable information about the state of soil health in various regions, helping them to make informed decisions about land use and conservation.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 3: 3. Member States shall at least every three years assess the effectiveness of the measures taken in accordance with this Article and, where relevant, review and revise those measures, taking into account the soil health monitoring and assessment referred to in Articles 6 to 9.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 3 a (new): 3a. The Commission shall assist and provide guidance to Member States regarding the development of specific measures linked to the sustainable soil management practices listed in Annex III.

Removed:Article 10 a (new): Article10a / 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. / 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, 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.

Removed:To implement Art.10, an up-to-date toolbox with information about the effects of the practices on various ecosystem services and soil threats, their context specific applicability (based on soil type, land use and climatic conditions) is proposed. The database should be supplemented with new information from research, such as from the Soil Mission EU and the EJP on Agricultural Soil Management projects. The data should be publicly available, so that farmers, land managers, private and public entities, and others can use those to improve soil health.

Removed:Article 11 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: Member States shall aim to reduce land take in order to achieve the objective of zero net land take by 2050 and ensure that the following principles are respected in case of land take:

Removed:Article 11 – paragraph 1 – point a – introductory part: (a) avoid the loss of the capacity of the soil to provide multiple ecosystem services, including food production, by:

Removed:Article 11 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new): (ba) put in place measures, including incentives to restore and reuse abandoned areas with sealed soils, to prevent or limit land take.

Removed:Article 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;

Removed:Article 12 – paragraph 4 – point b: (b) to provide information relevant for the activities referred to in point (a);

Removed:The amendment copies changes to point a) in Article 12(4).

Removed:Article 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.

Removed:According to the WHO, numerous local studies have found increased risks for various adverse health outcomes linked to contaminated sites, including mortality, cancer, respiratory disease and congenital anomalies, among others. Therefore, this addition reflects that the occurrence of diseases in particular areas, may help the Member States with the identification of potentially contaminated sites.

Removed:Article 15 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States shall define what constitutes an unacceptable risk for human 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 and current and future land use.

Removed:The addition of health professionals and authorities reflects their indispensable role in assessing what constitutes an unacceptable risk for human health and in ensuring protection. The WHO´s review of European redevelopment case studies found that health authorities were only involved in less than half of all remediation and redevelopment projects and health impact assessments were applied less often during redevelopment projects than environmental ones, leading to inadequate health protection (WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2021).

Removed:Article 15 – paragraph 5: 5. 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 at soil decontamination.

Removed:Decontamination should be considered as first, being the safest option in long term. Other options should be assessed only afterwards.

Removed:Article 15 – paragraph 6 a (new): 6a. For each contaminated site identified by the competent authority in accordance with Article 14 or by any other means, the competent authority shall identify the legal person responsible for the contamination. That legal person shall bear the cost of the implementation of the risk reduction measures, regardless of whether the contamination occurred in the framework of a legally valid permit.

Removed:The "polluter pays" principle, as enshrined in Article 191(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, should be observed. The principle implies that polluters should pay for the pollution they cause, creating an incentive to avoid damaging the environment at its source and holding polluters accountable.

Removed:Article 15 a (new): Article15a / Right to submit substantiated request for an action from competent authorities / 1. Any natural or legal person, individually or jointly,shall be entitled to submit to the competent authorities referred to in Article 5 at any time any evidence, such as human biomonitoring or environmental monitoring data, that indicates soil pollution. Member States shall take into consideration that evidence when implementing the provisions of this Chapter and in relation to the soil descriptors for soil contamination listed in Annex I. / 2. The competent authority concerned shall assess the information submitted in accordance with paragraph 1 and add the submitted evidence to all other available evidence. / 3. Where the assessment has shown a wide dispersive soil pollution or exposure to the substance or mixture concerned via soil, the competent authority shall initiate a risk management process to manage the risks. Where the assessment has shown a lack of information on the risk to health or the environment posed by a hazardous substance or mixture present in soil, the competent authority shall investigate further with a view to taking risk management measures in line with the precautionary principle, where necessary. / 4. The competent authority shall, within three months of receipt of the evidence, inform the natural or legal persons referred to in paragraph 1, of its opinion on the submitted evidence and concerns, and of any steps it plans to take to address those concerns,…

Removed:Data generated by health practitioners, scientists, citizens or other stakeholders has the potential to inform the process and improve knowledge gaps on potential contamination and its respective risks (in view of its reduction and management). Therefore, authorities of Member States shall consider evidence submitted to them such as human bio-monitoring or environmental monitoring data, in any time.

Removed:Article 16 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1: Member States shall make public and accessible 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 Council79 are fulfilled.

Removed:Article 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.

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

Removed:Article 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.

Removed:Article 17 – paragraph 1 c (new): 1c. By ... [OP : please insert date = 24 months from the entry into force of the Directive], the Commission shall assess any gap between funding needs and the available Union funding necessary for supporting Member States in the implementation of this Directive, paying specific attention to environmental monitoring needs, including LUCAS soil. / The Commission shall identify potential solutions to bridge this gap in the Union general budget, where appropriate through the establishment of a permanent dedicated budget line within the ceilings of the Multiannual Financial Framework.

Removed:Article 17 – paragraph 1 d (new): 1d. 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.

Removed:Article 17 – paragraph 1 e (new): 1e. 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.

Removed:Article 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 5 years:

Removed:Reporting of data should follow the monitoring frequency.

Removed:Article 18 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point b: (b) the supporting data, metadata and a trend analysis of 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;

Removed:Article 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;

Removed:To allow for a better overview of the management actions across the EU to facilitate exchange of information on best practices and transparency of the regulatory actions.

Removed:Article 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);

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

Removed:Article 19 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall make public 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 Council80 for geographically explicit data and Article 5 of Directive (EU) 2019/1024 for other data.

Removed:Inclusion of the assessment within Art. 10 on Sustainable soil management.

Removed:Article 19 – paragraph 4: 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. Any reason for refusal shall be stated and substantiated in writing.

Removed:Article 20 – paragraph 2: 2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Articles 8, 10, and 15 shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from the date of entry into force of this Directive.

Removed:Article 16 does not require delegated acts.

Removed:Article 20 – paragraph 3: 3. The delegation of power referred to in Articles 8, 10, 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.

Removed:Article 16 does not require delegated acts.

Removed:Article 20 – paragraph 6: 6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Articles 8, 10, 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.

Removed:Article 16 does not require delegated acts.

Removed:Article 22 – paragraph 2: 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. For the purposes of paragraph 1, any non-governmental organisation promoting protection of human health or the environment and meeting any requirements under national law shall be deemed to have rights capable of being impaired and their interest shall be deemed sufficient. / Having standing shall not be made conditional on the role the public may or may not have played during a participatory phase of the decision-making procedures under this Directive.

Removed:This addition aims at ensuring that rights of a member of the public are not limited in cases when it does not participate in the consultation procedures as it would equal to obstruction of access to justice that would not be in line with the Aarhus Convention.

Removed:Article 23 – paragraph 3 – point b a (new): (b a) previous infringements of this Directive by the natural or legal person;

Removed:Article 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 the ‘polluter pays’ principle.

Removed:Article 23 – paragraph 4 a (new): 4 a. In addition, Member States shall, in accordance with their respective rules on penalties, require the submission of soil remediation plans, conduct checks of their feasibility and continuously monitor their implementation.

Removed:Effective solutions leading towards regeneration of soil should be implemented, in addition to financial penalties.

Removed:Article 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 set more specific requirements, including setting 2040 intermediate targets where appropriate, to ensure that unhealthy soils are regenerated and that all soils will be healthy by 2050. This evaluation shall take into account, inter alia, the following elements:

Removed:The Commission should consider setting interim target(s), which would help reaching the objectives of this Directive.

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

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

Removed:The rapporteur proposes to provide Member States with bigger flexibility and autonomy with regards to the implementation of Union´s soil monitoring framework. Therefore, it is important that the Commission evaluates the level of harmonisation within Annexes I and II, and specifically if Tier 1 is not applied.

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

Removed:Amendment reflects the changed approach in Annex I (Tiers 1, 2, 3), as proposed by the rapporteur.

Removed:Article 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.

Removed:Article 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 by a legislative proposal, where appropriate.

Removed:Article 24 – paragraph 2 a (new): 2a. From ... [OP :please insert the date = eight years after the date of entry into force of the Directive],the Commission shall, report to the European Parliament and to the Council every three years 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.

Removed:Article 24 – paragraph 2 b (new): 2b. By ... [OP :please insert the date = 6 years after the date of entry into force of the Directive], as part of the assessment referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission shall assess the information collected on soil contamination 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.

Removed:Similarly as in the Water Framework Directive, a list of priority substances that are of concern at EU level shall be considered to be included in the Soil Directive following the first assessment of soil health, together with a monitoring mechanism to improve the available information on identifying the substances of greatest concern and emerging treats, to prevent aggravation of contamination.

Removed:Annex I – subheading 1: SOIL DESCRIPTORS, CRITERIA AND METHODS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF SOIL ECOLOGICAL STATUS, AND LAND TAKE AND SOIL SEALING INDICATORS

Removed:en

Removed:When a reference methodology is set, either the reference methodology is used or another methodology, provided that it is available in the scientific literature or publicly available and a validated transfer function is available.

Removed:Part B: Methodology for determining or estimating the values of soil descriptors When a reference methodology is set, either the reference methodology is used or another methodology, provided that it is available in the scientific literature or publicly available and a validated transfer function is available.

Removed:Annex 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.

Removed:I. Background

Removed:Soil 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.

Removed:Healthy 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.

Removed:Given 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.

Removed:By 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.

Removed:II. Position of the rapporteur

Removed:Chapter I: General provisions

Removed:The 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.

Removed:The 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.

Removed:Chapter II: Monitoring and assessment of soil health

Removed:Assessment of soil health based on 5 ecological classes

Removed:The 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.

Removed:Monitoring design underpinning the assessment of soils

Removed:The 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.

Removed:The 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.

Removed:Chapter III: Sustainable soil management

Removed:The 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.

Removed:He 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.

Removed:Chapter IV: Contaminated sites, point source and diffuse pollution

Removed:According 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.

Removed:In 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.

Removed:Finally, 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).

Removed:Chapter V: Financing

Removed:Given 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.

Removed:Chapter VII: Access to justice and review

Removed:Effective 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.