Every year in Europe, soils covering an area larger than the city of Berlin are lost to urban sprawl and transport infrastructure. Soil sealing causes an irreversible loss of the biological functions of soil. As water can neither infiltrate nor evaporate, water runoff increases, sometimes leading to catastrophic floods. Landscapes are fragmented and habitats become too small or too isolated to support certain species. In addition, the food production potential of land is lost forever. There is an urgent need to use this valuable resource more wisely, in order to secure its many vital services for future generations. The EU faces new territorial challenges.