Soil in the post-2027 CAP
European Union prepares for the next programming period (2028-2034) of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the protection and restoration of soil health stand out as key priorities for ensuring the long-term resilience of Europe’s food systems. Healthy soils sustain agricultural productivity, climate stability, water regulation, and biodiversity. Yet across Europe, over 60% of soils are in poor condition, degraded by erosion, compaction, contamination, and organic matter loss (EC, 2021; EC, 2023).
The post-2027 CAP proposal offers an important opportunity to realign Europe’s agricultural policy with its environmental commitments. Achieving this alignment will depend on how resources are structured and targeted, on how performance is measured, and on how accountability is maintained across Member States. Strengthening the CAP’s financial incentives, monitoring framework, and progressive ambition is essential if Europe is to secure healthy soils and sustainable food systems for future generations.
Read more:
D. Pollicino, A. Martín Sánchez, F. Odriozola, E. Champseix, Protecting Europe’s Soils: Assessing the Future Common Agricultural Policy’s Commitment to Soil Health Policy Brief, NBSOIL: The Nature-Based Solutions for Soil Management, 2025
Soil in the post-2027 CAP
European Union prepares for the next programming period (2028-2034) of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the protection and restoration of soil health stand out as key priorities for ensuring the long-term resilience of Europe’s food systems. Healthy soils sustain agricultural productivity, climate stability, water regulation, and biodiversity. Yet across Europe, over 60% of soils are in poor condition, degraded by erosion, compaction, contamination, and organic matter loss (EC, 2021; EC, 2023).
The post-2027 CAP proposal offers an important opportunity to realign Europe’s agricultural policy with its environmental commitments. Achieving this alignment will depend on how resources are structured and targeted, on how performance is measured, and on how accountability is maintained across Member States. Strengthening the CAP’s financial incentives, monitoring framework, and progressive ambition is essential if Europe is to secure healthy soils and sustainable food systems for future generations.
Read more:
D. Pollicino, A. Martín Sánchez, F. Odriozola, E. Champseix, Protecting Europe’s Soils: Assessing the Future Common Agricultural Policy’s Commitment to Soil Health Policy Brief, NBSOIL: The Nature-Based Solutions for Soil Management, 2025
********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************Soil Monitoring and Resilience (Soil Monitoring Directive) European Parliament legislative resolution of 10 April 2024 on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on Soil Monitoring and Resilience (Soil Monitoring Law) (COM(2023)0416 – C9-0234/2023 – 2023/0232(COD)) (Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading) P9_TA(2024)0204, OJ C, C/2025/1312, 13.3.2025.
The European Union is advancing its commitment to soil health through the proposed Soil Monitoring and Resilience Directive, also known as the Soil Monitoring Law. This initiative aims to establish a comprehensive framework for monitoring soil health, promoting sustainable soil management, and enhancing resilience against environmental challenges.
Legislative Progress
- European Parliament Adoption: On 10 April 2024, the European Parliament adopted its position at first reading on the proposed directive.
- Council's General Approach: The Council agreed on its general approach on 17 June 2024, paving the way for trilogue negotiations between the Parliament, Council, and Commission.
Key Objectives of the Directive
The directive outlines several core objectives:
- Soil Health Monitoring: Establishing a harmonized system across Member States to assess soil health using common indicators.
- Sustainable Soil Management: Promoting practices that maintain and improve soil functions, ensuring long-term productivity and ecosystem services.
- Identification and Remediation of Contaminated Sites: Implementing measures to identify, assess, and remediate areas with soil contamination.
- Data Integration and Accessibility: Ensuring that soil-related data are accessible and integrated with other environmental datasets to support informed decision-making.
Stakeholder Perspectives
While there is broad support for the directive's goals, stakeholders have raised concerns regarding:
- Indicator Selection: Debate over the appropriateness and feasibility of the proposed soil health indicators.
- Implementation Roadmap: Calls for a clear roadmap with intermediate targets to achieve the 2050 objective of healthy soils.
- Funding Mechanisms: Concerns about the availability of financial support for landowners and managers to implement required measures.
- Polluter Pays Principle: Discussions on how to effectively apply this principle within the context of soil contamination and degradation.
With both the European Parliament and the Council having established their positions, trilogue negotiations are underway to finalize the directive's text. Once adopted, Member States will be required to transpose the directive into national law, aligning their soil monitoring and management practices with the established EU framework.
