There is still no specific soil protection law at EU level. In 2014 the European Commission withdrew its 2006 proposal for a soil protection directive, after two unofficial compromise proposals of 2010 and 2011 failed to secure an agreement. The project analyses and compares the three proposals, because they represent the course and state of play of the political debate and could play a role in the event of new political initiatives. A legal analysis shows commonalities and differences between the soil protection requirements of the proposals and German soil protection law. The study also examines the potential cost for the Federal and State level to gather the necessary data if there was an obligation to identify and determine risk areas according to certain criteria. The project also analyses to what extent EU laws and instruments regulate or have an impact on soil protection, and provides an assessment if and how soil protection standards could be incorporated or added.