“Soil is a precious and limited resource. Irreversible degradation of this resource implies not only ruining the main asset of current farmers, but also reducing the farming opportunities of future generations” EU Commission (2006)
Despite EU Commission commitment to the introduction of a Soils Directive this was not matched by similar commitment from different Member States. Some argued that they were already catering for soil protection in national policies and regulations. The proposal for introducing a Soils Directive has since been suspended.