The EU adopts a Soil Monitoring Law to protect soil health

The European Union has adopted the Soil Monitoring Law, a landmark piece of legislation establishing a common framework to monitor, protect and improve soil health across Europe. Entering into force on 16 December 2025, this is the first EU law specifically dedicated to soil health.

Soils play a crucial role in food production, biodiversity conservation, climate regulation and water quality. However, it is estimated that between 60% and 70% of soils in the EU are currently degraded, due to pressures such as erosion, loss of organic matter, contamination, soil sealing and declining biodiversity.

The Soil Monitoring Law aims to address these challenges by introducing a harmonised and systematic approach to soil monitoring across all Member States. In particular, the law:

- Establishes common indicators and methodologies to assess soil health in a consistent way across the EU;

- Requires Member States to monitor and regularly assess the condition of soils on their territory;

- Supports sustainable soil management practices by improving access to comparable and reliable soil data;

- Strengthens the scientific knowledge base to better inform policy-making and land-use planning.

The overarching objective of the law is to ensure that all soils in the European Union are in healthy condition by 2050, contributing to the goals of the European Green Deal, climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity protection, and long-term food security.

With this legislation, soils are recognised as a strategic natural resource and placed on an equal footing with air and water within EU environmental policy. The Soil Monitoring Law therefore represents a major step forward in building more resilient and sustainable ecosystems across Europe.