European Soil Protection Law after the Setback of December 2007 – Existing Law and Outlook

In September 2006 the European Commission adopted a comprehensive EU strategy dedicated to soil protection and a directive proposal establishing a framework for the protection of soil. However, on 20 December 2007 – approximately one year after this progressive approach – EU Environment Ministers were unable to reach an agreement in the Environment Council because the proposed directive was blocked by five Member States. This setback has launched a heated discussion and raises the question if the prospect of common European soil protection legislation has been put on hold indefinitely. On the one hand, this contribution reviews the reasons for the failure of the proposal and in particular the requirements of the principle of subsidiarity. Thus, it will examine whether there are basic legal obstacles for further attempts to establish a coherent European soil protection law. On the other hand, this contribution aims to cast a positive light on the present community rules which are directly or indirectly related to the protection of soil. In doing so it will be shown that there already is a remarkable set of provisions and policies in place – and even a specific approach in the Environmental Liability Directive – covering soil protection.