Lawmakers are working at committee level to prepare a draft legal text to be voted in plenary in 2024. The ENVI rapporteur, MEP Hojsik has published its draft report, while MEP Noichl, designated rapporteur for opinion in the AGRI Committee, has released her own assessment.
The main revisions in the ENVI report consist of the inclusion of a binding 2050 target, with the possibility of adding intermediate ones if needed; while the soil health classification is based on soil ecological status, with five different categories. Other amendments focus on the optional set up of district plans, the reduction of the period to define sustainable management practices and a digital toolbox for the exchange of best cases. More ambitious provisions are foreseen on soil contamination and remediation of contaminated sites, adding to the monitoring framework more substances of concern and pollutants.
Shadow rapporteurs and other MEPs of COMENVI have made available their amendments to the proposal (see part 1, 2, 3, 4), with a clear distinction between those who want to slash the already mild ambitions of the Soil Directive, and those who are trying to strengthen the scope and the objectives.
In the COMAGRI, the draft opinion is a clear upgrade in ambitions, setting intermediate and long-term targets and fostering the role played by organic matter and soil biodiversity in soil health. The binary approach proposed by the Commission on the assessment of soil health has been so far maintained, while discussions in the Committee are still ongoing.