Review of national contaminated land management frameworks in front of the new EU Soil Monitoring Law era—the case study of Greece.

This article focuses on contaminated land management in the European Union (EU), emphasizing the current lack of unified EU legislation and the need for integrated national frameworks, with Greece as a case study. It reviews established contaminated land management practices in various EU countries, the UK, and New Jersey (USA), highlighting key components such as soil screening values, contaminated site registries, professional certification, and digital tools. The study identifies significant gaps in Greece’s approach, including inadequate legislation, absence of a contaminated site registry, and limited expertise, and proposes a phased strategy for Greece to develop a robust national framework aligned with the forthcoming EU Soil Monitoring Law and Soil Strategy. Recommendations include establishing a coordinating authority, enhancing stakeholder participation, adopting interim soil screening values from experienced countries, building capacity within authorities, and creating comprehensive technical guidelines to address emerging challenges like diffuse contamination and emerging pollutants.