A European directive for healthy soils...

On September 29, 2025, the Council of the European Union officially adopted the Soil Monitoring and Resilience Directive, better known as the Soil Monitoring Law (SML). A few weeks later, on October 23, the European Parliament gave its final approval to this text, making it the first European legislative initiative entirely dedicated to soil.

 

The directive is part of an ambitious drive to achieve healthy soils throughout Europe by 2050. It aims to strengthen monitoring, prevent degradation and better manage soils, which are at the heart of the challenges of biodiversity, water quality, food security and the fight against climate change.

 

Under the directive, Member States will set up monitoring systems to assess the physical, chemical and biological status of soils on their territory, based on a common EU methodology. They will provide the Commission and the European Environment Agency with regular information on soil health, land artificialisation and contaminated sites, ensuring that comparable data is available across the EU and that coordinated action can be taken to combat soil degradation. Measures will also be taken to monitor new contaminants such as PFAS, pesticides and microplastics.

 

The directive will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the EU Official Journal, and member states will have three years to incorporate it into their national legislation.

 

The official text is available in all EU languages on the EUR-Lex website.