against other green policies, follows an initial attempt by the Commission to introduce soil health legislation in 2006, which a minority of countries including Germany and France blocked.
EU states would also need to identify sites where soils are contaminated with chemicals, and address those with health-harming risks. But the proposal would not oblige them to achieve minimum soil health levels. "Despite the worrying state of EU soils and the solutions mentioned in the proposal, it fails to propose an ambitious framework for coordinated development of soil health at the European level," the group said in a statement.
Asked about the lack of binding targets, EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius said the aim was to first establish a clearer picture of soil health and methods to manage it more sustainably.