NGOs for healthy soils: Joint campaign for new EU soil law was successful!

In mid-October, Meco joined forces with 50 other European NGOs to issue a joint statement calling for the long-overdue adoption of the Soil Monitoring Law (SML). This EU-wide legal framework for monitoring the condition of our valuable soils and promoting their gradual restoration had been under discussion at EU level for months.

The commitment has had an effect: on 23 October, the European Parliament passed the first EU Soil Protection Act with 341 votes in favour and 220 against – a milestone for climate, environmental and agricultural policy in Europe!

Why this is so important:

Around 60–70% of EU soil is considered damaged. However, healthy soil is essential for life – it forms the basis for almost all our food, filters water, stores carbon and gives us important resilience against extreme weather events.

The joint appeal was part of a broad movement: in addition to the 51 NGOs, more than 60 farmers, over 140 scientists and 14 companies also supported the call for effective soil protection legislation.

The adoption of this law is a milestone, but the real work begins now: its success depends on careful implementation and consistent enforcement. Even if the law in its current form does not meet all expectations due to watering down, Member States can and should go further in transposing it into national law and implementing it in practice – Meco will be monitoring this here in Luxembourg.

The joint statement by the NGOs can be found in the downloads.

13.11.25