The Court of Auditors’ report follows an earlier analysis which showed that 60 to 70 percent of soils in Europe are unhealthy, partly due to poor soil and manure management.
Excessive use of manure in agriculture has negative effects on water quality and biodiversity, but too little is being done about it. The nitrate directive only partially restricts the use of nitrogen from animal manure.
According to the EU auditors, approximately 85 billion euros in agricultural subsidies were spent on soil quality between 2014 and 2020. However, this has had insufficient effect because EU countries attach too few conditions to such subsidies. It is concluded that EU countries should have allocated more money to areas with acute soil problems.
Moreover, the European Commission does not have a good overview of how EU countries apply criteria for manure management. As a result, EU-wide averages cannot be calculated.
Brussels recently launched a proposal for a 'clean soil regulation,' but it is still far from being implemented. This directive will be discussed in the coming months by the European Parliament and the Environment Ministers. The EU aims to have healthy soils by 2050.