Article 18 — Union funding

Given the priority inherently attached to the establishment of soil monitoring, to soil resilience, and to the management of contaminated sites, the implementation of this Directive shall be supported by Union financial programmes in accordance with their applicable rules and conditions. The Commission shall assess any gap between the available Union funding and funding needs for supporting Member States in the implementation of this Directive, paying specific attention to environmental monitoring needs. When implementing this Directive, the Commission and Member States shall be encouraged to make use of financial resources from appropriate sources, including Union, national, regional and local funds, to finance actions with a focus on soil protection, soil resilience and soil regeneration.