The European Commission has announced it will scrap the stalled Soil Framework Directive, to the dismay of environmentalists who argue that protecting soils is key to creating a European agriculture that is sustainable in the long-term.

However, big farm groups including the NFU in the UK have welcomed the move; NFU has been lobbying EU legislators for years, seeking a withdrawal of the Directive, which would have seen soils given the same non-renewable status as other natural resources such as coal. The Soils Directive was tabled in 2006 but had been stalled in draft form since 2007 by a blocking minority of member state governments, including that of the UK.    

Last year, the EU Commission announced that it would revisit and possibly scrap the draft as part of its 'fit for growth' package to make regulations "lighter, simpler and cheaper."  The process was slammed by environmentalists as "dangerous deregulation." On Thursday, the draft was officially withdrawn along with a host of other ill-fated proposals deemed by the Commission to be "obsolete."

NFU Vice President Guy Smith welcomed the withdrawal on Thursday, saying, "The withdrawal of an EU legislative proposal is unprecedented, but the significant and on-going opposition to the draft Soils Directive text over the past eight years has clearly left the Commission's original proposals unworkable. Our long held and firm belief has been that there is no need for additional legislation in this area – soils in the UK, and across the EU, are already protected by a range of laws and other measures, including cross compliance requirements and more targeted measures within agri-environment scheme agreements."

Smith continued, "Farmers have an inherent interest in maintaining their land in good condition and in assuring its long-term fertility and productivity, and we believe that these can be supported through carefully targeted advice and information, voluntary action, partnerships and a greater emphasis on monitoring and research, but not another legislative proposal."

However, experts in the field, including Dr Helaina Black, a senior soil scientist at the James Hutton Institute, have warned that without some form of framework, research and monitoring into soil health will not be carried out effectively, and soil science is likely to continue to suffer from underfunding, being passed over in favour of more established areas of study where there is better regulation and legislation such as water, air and biodiversity conservation.

Research published last September by EU in-house science service the Joint Research Centre revealed that soil degradation tends to be a larger problem in those states that have resisted introducing binding measures to protect soils, including the UK.

The JRC research showed that soil biodiversity is under threat in 56 percent of EU territory. JRC scientists concluded that "intense land exploitation [is] estimated as the main pressure on soil biodiversity," and warned that "Due the combined effect of high intensity agriculture, many invasive species and an increased risk of organic carbon loss, the potential pressures were found to be particularly high in the UK and central Europe."

The European Environmental Bureau suggested on Thursday that the Commission's withdrawal of two crucial pieces of environmental policy at the moment that citizens across Europe are voting in the European elections sends a bad signal as to what Europe’s priorities are. In addition to the Soil Directive, the Commission withdrew a 2003 proposal for a directive on access to "justice in environmental matters".

Jeremy Wates, EEB Secretary General commented, "A new legislative proposal in this area is urgently needed, not only to create a more democratic Europe, not only to improve the implementation of environmental law, not only to create a more level playing field for business but also in order to ensure that the EU is fully in compliance with its obligations under international law, namely the Aarhus Convention."

EEB said the fate of the Soils directive "reveals a disturbing lack of vision and understanding of the importance of European soils, which poses a direct threat to our food security and limits our ability to tackle climate change and prevent the loss of biodiversity." The Bureau said, "The Commission should swiftly come forward with new proposals in these areas and show that Europe is serious about guaranteeing citizens' rights and protecting crucial natural resources."