30.6.2007   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 146/34

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does believe that, from an environmental standpoint, there are a number of reasons for developing soil policy at EU level. Soil contamination, for example, is linked to human and animal health and soil policy has a role to play here. In addition, climate change, the transboundary impacts of soil degradation, the pressure caused on other environmental compartments, and the Kyoto agreements require attention at a European level;

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believes that a Directive which sets out to establish an inventory and assists the Member States to take action, as proposed by the Commission, may help to bring about sustainable soil management in the EU. This implies that the Directive should be of a flexible nature;

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expresses its concern over the administrative burdens which may arise, for local and regional authorities, as a result of the following requirements: the identification of areas at risk; the obligation to review, every ten years, the areas identified as being at risk (Article 6); and the obligation to review the inventory of contaminated sites (Articles 10 and 11);

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does not wish to see any direct obligations imposed upon the relevant authorities in respect of the actual cleaning-up and management of contaminated sites (Article 13);

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believes that there is a need for the European Commission to draw up a set of guideline measures, comprising cost-effective measures, from which the Member States can draw inspiration to compose their own package of measures, exercising their own judgement.

1.1

Soil is of vital importance to the sustaining of human life. Soil provides an essential source of food and water and also plays a vital role in regulating various cycles, whilst providing a habitat for many organisms and serving as the basis for life above ground. For human beings and nature, it is vital that the soil is able to continue to fulfil these roles in an ongoing, optimal way.

1.2

All EU Member States have to contend, to a greater or lesser extent, with soil-related problems. There is no doubt that, in some parts of Europe, considerable and disturbing soil degradation processes have occurred and will continue to occur.

1.3

Soil is an immobile material, but soil degradation in one Member State can nevertheless have transboundary effects. The CoR believes therefore that the proposal is in line with the subsidiarity principle. The CoR also notes that only nine Member States have introduced a soil policy and that this policy is generally limited to certain aspects of soil contamination. The CoR does, in addition, believe that, from an environmental standpoint, there are a number of reasons for developing soil policy at EU level. Soil contamination, for example, is linked to human and animal health and soil policy has a role to play here. In addition, climate change, the transboundary impacts of soil degradation, the pressure caused on other environmental compartments, and the Kyoto agreements require attention at a European level.

1.4

Soil policy is a highly complex matter. In Europe there are over 320 different soil types, which are used for many different purposes. Soil does, for example, fulfil economic, social, cultural and environmental functions and is used in connection with agriculture, nature, construction and the building of roads and embankments. The threats confronting soil in the various EU Member States are highly diverse. This leads to very considerable differences between individual Member States and even between the various regions within individual Member States. The various measures adopted by the Member States also differ considerably. Besides these geographical differences, there are climatic differences between Europe's regions. These differences chime with the responsibilities exercised by regional and local authorities in the Member States in this field.

1.5

In view of this great diversity and the difficulties in elaborating common standards, the CoR believes that for the time being it is not possible to adopt uniform EU quantitative standards. It believes nevertheless that the strategy presented by the Commission is a first step in the direction of reaching agreement on common standards in the near future. Tailor-made measures are necessary to ensure real protection for soil. Soil is a policy area which needs to be fleshed out primarily at local and regional level.

1.6

In the majority of EU Member States, responsibility for soil policy rests with local and regional authorities. These authorities should therefore play a major role in the development of new methods and measures in the field of soil policy.

1.7

The European Union, for its part, has to play a supporting and stimulating role in the field of soil policy. EU legislation in this field should be rejected unless it is flexible and provides the Member States with adequate room for manoeuvre in framing soil policy.

1.8

The CoR endorses the objectives of the strategy and takes the view that they make a major contribution towards the establishment of a flexible, common European policy framework for ensuring sustainable soil management.

1.9

The description of the objectives of the strategy lead the CoR to infer that the focus has been placed on expanding available knowledge in respect of soil processes and obliging the Member States to take action in this field. They are encouraged to take action to combat soil degradation but the actual identification of the areas at risk, the objectives to be pursued with a view to reducing soil degradation and the measures to be carried out to achieve these objectives is a task entrusted to the Member States themselves. The CoR endorses this approach as it enables soil issues to be tackled in an integrated and well-structured way, thereby emphasising the local and regional nature of this issue.

1.10

With a view to implementing the proposed strategy, all the existing EU laws and policies of relevance to the soil issue should be systematically evaluated to determine the extent to which they are conducive to promoting sustainable soil in the EU. In cases where such laws or policies make an inadequate contribution to pursuing this goal, they should be adjusted accordingly. A plan of approach should be drawn up by the Commission in the short term with a view to achieving this goal.

1.11

For the abovementioned reasons the CoR takes the view that the proposed strategy should tie in more closely with the other strategies developed in the framework of the Sixth Environment Action Programme. In particular, there should be closer links with the strategies in respect of pesticides, waste and recycling, surface water and groundwater.

1.12

The CoR believes that information and communication have an important role to play in helping to bring about sustainable soil management. Threats confronting soil and how soil can help promote a sustainable society are two issues which need to be covered in this respect.

1.13

The measures taken by the Member States are characterised by considerable diversity (see point 1.4 above). The CoR believes that the quality of soil in Europe can be improved in an effective and practical way if Member States which have already introduced a soil policy transfer knowledge to the other Member States. The CoR advocates taking steps to enable those Member States already pursuing a fully-fledged soil policy share their experience with Member States which lack comprehensive legislation in this field.

1.14

The CoR attaches considerable value to the establishment of an open communication platform for exchanging information on best practice with a view to providing adequate protection of soil. In view of the variable nature of soil in the EU, there is a need to have a full picture of the measures which can be employed and which have proved their worth in practice.

1.15

The aim of this framework Directive is to establish an inventory of soil degradation in the EU. It provides criteria for enabling such an inventory to be compiled in a uniform and transparent way. Whether or not an area is designated as an area at risk, which measures, if any, are to be taken and the timeframe for such measures are to be determined by the Member State itself.

1.16

The CoR believes that a Directive which sets out to establish an inventory and assists the Member States to take action, as proposed by the Commission, may help to bring about sustainable soil management in the EU. This implies that the present Directive should be of a flexible nature and must not set out any quantitative and qualitative standards. These measures should be implemented on a voluntary basis by means of incentive and advisory schemes. Furthermore, an increase in documentation requirements should be prevented in order to combat unnecessary bureaucracy. At the same time, the present Commission proposals should not be seen as an invitation to far-reaching EU intervention.

1.17

The Committee believes that top priority must be given to national-level responsibility for achieving environmental standards, including liability and responsibility on the part of soil polluters and owners. This implies that there is a need to stipulate that, even when the polluter-pays principle is applied, the liability of not just the polluter but also additional obligated parties can be invoked. The Committee would stress that it must be prescribed at national level who, in the final analysis, is an obligated party.

1.18

The Committee expresses its concern over the fact that, for the purposes of formulating the specific requirements of the proposed EU Directive and, in particular, establishing the risk-assessment criteria in respect of soil contamination, recourse is to be had to a committee, in accordance with Decision 1999/468/EC (the ‘Comitology Decision’). A procedure should be selected in this case which takes account of the interests of all stakeholders and ensures adequate participation.

1.19

Article 16 of the Directive defines a large number of reporting obligations to be met mainly by local and regional authorities. In the CoR's view, these provisions should not impose a disproportionate burden on local authorities and regions. It should be pointed out in this context that the amount of attention, manpower and financial resources devoted to drawing up reports cannot, at the same time, be devoted to measures to prevent soil degradation, even though reducing soil degradation should be the primary objective.

1.20

The CoR underscores the importance of the integration of soil policy into sectoral policies and provisions at every level of administration (Article 3). In the context of the implementation of sectoral policies, restraint should be exercised with regard to the introduction of compulsory checks on the basis of existing data (soil tests). Checks are only an important requirement in cases where soil is at risk. In view of the fact that the policy is already of the nature of a framework policy, the stipulation of soil tests in the implementing phase is generally unnecessary. In the case of complex and wide-ranging situations, the establishment of an environmental impact report is, in any case, already obligatory.

1.21

The CoR expresses its concern over the administrative burdens which may arise, for local and regional authorities, as a result of the following requirements: the identification of areas at risk; the obligation to review, every ten years, the areas identified as being at risk (Article 6); and the obligation to review the inventory of contaminated sites (Articles 10 and 11).

1.22

The Committee notes that the Proposal for a Directive sets out a series of recording and reporting obligations, together with requirements in respect of the drawing up of plans and programmes which may be subject to a strategic environmental assessment (SEA); these measures would involve a considerable additional administrative burden. The EU provisions must, as far as possible, refrain from stipulating reporting obligations and the drawing up of plans and programmes subject to SEAs.

1.23

The Committee takes the view that public involvement should be limited to those cases which are covered by the environmental information Directive.

1.24

The CoR does not wish to see any direct obligations imposed upon the relevant authorities in respect of the actual cleaning-up and management of contaminated sites (Article 13). The authorities ensure that a clean-up actually takes place. All these matters must be considered in the context of the laws and rules applicable in the Member State concerned and in the context of the specific local soil situation. The authorities in question remain, of course, responsible for ensuring that the issue of contaminated sites is tackled.

1.25

The CoR expresses its satisfaction with the proposed function-orientated remediation of degraded soils (Articles 1.1 and 13.2). Measures are proposed depending upon the (current) use being made of the soil.

1.26

The impact assessment states that measures to reduce soil degradation offer a considerable social return on investment. The Committee endorses this conclusion, but would point out that, in order to achieve this return, there first has to be investment in soil. Experience has shown that the implementation of soil remediation projects, e.g. for local authorities and regions, is often thwarted by lack of funds.

1.27

The CoR regards the introduction of the soil status report (Article 12) as providing support from the EU for the drawing up of inventories of contaminated sites since, on the one hand, the proposed report would help to keep inventories of contaminated sites up to date and, on the other hand, the report would provide purchasers of sites from other EU Member States with the requisite information in a transparent way and therefore prevent them from incurring economic loss. The proposed report thus gives substance, in a practical way to the ‘polluter pays’ principle referred to in Article 4.

1.28

The CoR takes the view that, when measures for preserving soil functions are being identified, attention should be paid not only to social and economic aspects but also to safety aspects and the presence of subjects constituting archaeological, geological and geomorphological heritage (Article 8).

1.29

The Committee feels that the Commission's call for national funding mechanisms for the remediation of contaminated sites (Article 13) fails to take adequate account of the specific regional (funding) mechanisms already in place, which, in practice to date, have proved effective. The fear is that, in this area, EU rules will, if anything, be a hindrance.

1.30

In the CoR's view, one of the cornerstones of the Commission's proposal is the planned establishment of a platform for the exchange of information (Article 17). In view of their practical expertise and the experience which they have acquired, regional and local authorities should participate actively in the proposed exchange of information.

2.1

The CoR believes that there is a need for the European Commission to draw up a set of guideline measures, comprising cost-effective measures, from which the Member States can draw inspiration to compose their own package of measures, exercising their own judgement. Those Member States which have not yet formulated a soil policy or are currently in the process of doing so will only be able to carry out effective work in this field if they are in possession of adequate knowledge.

2.2

The CoR proposes that, rather than introducing wide-ranging European reporting requirements, Member States should be able to employ their own reporting system and that the European Commission should be given access to the information concerned (Article 16).

2.3

Risk areas can be identified very specifically and in a way which involves placing a more limited administrative burden on the authorities concerned if a quick scan is first carried out to determine which risks are or are not applicable in (parts of) the soil in the Member State concerned (Article 6). As regards the review of the risk areas and the inventories of contaminated sites, a complete review is unnecessary. It may be sufficient to update the information using monitoring data.

2.4

The CoR calls for the research agenda of the European Commission as announced in the thematic strategy to be fleshed out and for priorities and a timetable to be defined. The impact which climate change has on the soil needs to be clearly identified as a matter of the utmost priority. It is well known that climate change leads, or may lead, to the accelerated decomposition of soil organic matter. In view of the very important role played by organic matter in the functioning of soil, climate change may have a very considerable impact on sustainable soil management.

1)

Member States identify the risk areas and draw up an inventory (see subparagraphs b, c and e of the Commission text);

2)

the European Commission draws up a set of guideline measures, as referred to in Article 17 (see Recommendation 10);

3)

Member States draw up a package of measures (see subparagraphs a, d, f and g of the Commission text).