The SOILS4MED Project is very glad to communicate that the new 𝗘𝗨 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 (“𝑺𝒐𝒊𝒍 𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑳𝒂𝒘”) enters into force today, 16 December 2025.
We note, with great satisfaction, that SOILS4MED is well aligned with the most characterizing and innovative aspects of the Directive. Besides defining a set of soil descriptors that is consistent with those of our project, the Directive reflects our approach when it:
- Sets the Soil Unit as the spatial unit to be used to design the soil monitoring sampling survey.
- Prescribes sampling points that are representative of the soil units reflecting a certain degree of homogeneity of soil condition under different soil types, climatic conditions, and land use.
- Adds that the design of the sampling should be based on the best available information on the distribution of soil properties, such as information resulting from previous national or subnational surveys, which we call the legacy data.
The Directive also states that the ongoing soil monitoring programme LUCAS is to be enhanced and upgraded: contributing to this aim is one of the stated objectives of our project.
For more information: 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2025/2360/oj