Policy process of the EU Soil Strategy for 2030 and the EU Soil Health Law

Background: Under the European Green Deal, an EU Soil Strategy for 2030 has been developed. The Strategy aims to achieve healthy soils by 2050, with concrete actions by 2030. Furthermore, in 2023, the European Commission will propose a Soil Health Law which aims to improve the state of soils by 2050 and to protect soils on the same legal basis as air and water.

Aim: The thesis aims to understand the policy process of the Strategy/Law: How did the topic got back to the policy agenda? Who are the most important state and non-state actors of the different sectors? What are the different interests within the EU and in selected Member States? How do they evaluate the new strategy/law?