The EU Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience, published on 26 November 2025 (Directive - EU - 2025/2360 - EN - EUR-Lex), sets out a coherent and harmonised framework for monitoring and assessing soil health across all EU Member States, a key milestone for Europe’s environmental ambition.
The legislation aims to achieve healthy soils across Europe by 2050 and contributes directly to the EU’s zero pollution ambition. Importantly, it does so without imposing new obligations on farmers or foresters, while strengthening monitoring capacity, improving data comparability and supporting land managers through advisory systems and knowledge exchange.
What the law will do
The directive requires EU countries to monitor and assess soil health using common descriptors covering physical, chemical and biological aspects of soils. An EU methodology will guide sampling, and Member States may build on existing monitoring campaigns to reduce administrative burden. The Commission will revise its LUCAS Soil sampling programme and provide support where needed.
Member States will set non-binding sustainable target values and operational trigger values for certain soil descriptors. Within 10 years, Member States must also identify and record potentially contaminated sites in a public register, while unacceptable risks to human health and the environment must be addressed. Additionally, the Commission will establish an indicative list of soil contaminants including relevant PFAS and pesticides within 18 months.
The directive will enter into force on 16 December 2025 (20 days after publication in the Official Journal), with a three-year deadline for Member States to transpose it into national law.
The Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’
The directive recognises the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ (Mission Soil) as a central instrument for implementation. Through its research, innovation, large-scale demonstration activities and knowledge mobilisation, the Mission will help to provide the methodologies, tools and evidence needed to turn the law’s requirements into practice.
The role of Mission Soil projects
Mission Soil projects are developing harmonised methods, tools and datasets that directly support Member States as they implement the Soil Monitoring Law.
For example, the AI4SoilHealth project, funded under Mission Soil, is building an AI-powered soil health monitoring system for Europe. BENCHMARKS is establishing reference sites across Europe to benchmark soil health indicators in various pedoclimatic conditions and land uses. Several other Mission Soil-funded projects are pioneering the development of biological indicators – such as microbial diversity, soil fauna and enzymatic activity – where many current monitoring systems have major gaps. Evidence from these projects support any future expansion of biodiversity monitoring within the directive’s framework.
Connecting monitoring efforts through EU-level data systems
The directive stresses the need for a coherent EU-wide information system for soil health. Mission Soil contributes to this by supporting the upgrade of the EU Soil Observatory into a modern, digital soil health data portal. Subject to quality criteria, data from Mission Soil projects can be voluntarily integrated into the portal, improving the availability of comparable and interoperable data across the EU.
Mission-driven innovations may also inform upcoming rounds of the LUCAS Soil survey, for example through new descriptors or digital sampling tools aligned with the law’s methodology.
A collective effort for healthy soils by 2050
The EU Soil Monitoring Law, supported by Mission Soil’s scientific and practical outputs, offers an unprecedented opportunity to improve soil health across Europe. The directive sets the common framework; Mission Soil helps to provide the evidence and tools; and Member States will bring implementation to life.
