Improving soil management on Europe’s arable farms can deliver major climate benefits. Using 214 long-term soil carbon datasets from across the EU, we show that practices like reduced tillage, organic amendments, winter cover, and diverse rotations can avoid carbon losses and boost soil carbon sequestration. Specialist crop farms alone could sequester 48 ± 15 Mt CO2e per year—around 17 % of the EU’s Fit-for-55 target for additional land-based removals. Potential varies strongly across countries, highlighting the need for spatially targeted carbon payments to achieve cost-effective soil carbon gains.