Soil Monitoring Law proposal: Technical briefing on the Principles of Subsidiarity and Proportionality

The European Commission’s current proposal for a Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience (Soil Monitoring Law) aims to establish a soil monitoring framework for all soils across the EU and to improve soil health with the view to achieve healthy soils by 2050. A previous attempt to legislate on soil at EU level in 2006 failed due to the opposition from a minority of Member States, who, among others, criticised the initiative as allegedly infringing upon the principle of subsidiarity. As we proceed with the current co-decision procedure, it can be anticipated that similar concerns may resurface. This technical briefing gives an overview of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, demonstrating that the current legislative proposal fully upholds both principles and that any opposing claims are of a political, rather than legal, nature.