The negotiators failed to reach an agreement during the second session of trilogue on 12 December, postponing the talks until January.
The main points of disagreement between the Parliament and the Council related to sustainable soil management obligations (Article 10) and sustainable soil management principles (Annex III). Indeed, the Parliament wants to remove nearly all the obligations related to sustainable soil management, while the Council would prefer to stick to the Commission’s proposal. The situation is the same for the sustainable soil management principles, which the Council wants to retain as a voluntary tool whereas the Parliament has deleted them from its position.
It seems that it was the aim of the right-wing political group EPP to push the negotiations towards January, when Poland will take over the Council presidency, currently led by an EPP leader.