The EU Council and the European Parliament have reached an informal political agreement to improve soil resilience and manage contamination risks across the bloc under the long-awaited soil monitoring law. However, despite welcoming the deal, some NGOs are criticizing the “weak” ambition and the lack of legal targets and soil health plans. Over 60-70% of EU soil is not in good condition, even though healthy soil forms the base of 95% of the food consumed globally. The European Commission notes that the region loses €50 billion (US$56.7 billion) annually in the EU due to soil degradation.
