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The EU Commission proposes a one-year delay in the implementation of anti-deforestation law

Oct 4, 2024 European Union

The European Commission is proposing a one-year delay in the entry into force of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), responding to calls from several global partners

If, as expected, the Parliament and the European Council approve the proposal, the entry into force of the EUDR will be postponed to the 30^th of December for large companies and to the 30^thof June for small and medium companies.

However, “the extension proposal in no way puts into question the objectives or the substance of the law, as agreed by the EU co-legislators”, the Commission statement said. The additional 12 months should be seen as a phase-in period to ensure proper and effective implementation. To secure this, the Commission is publishing updated guidelines and implementing the IT system for due diligence.

The EUDR aims to ensure that a range of goods placed on the EU market no longer contribute to deforestation and forest degradation in the EU and elsewhere in the world. In practice, it will require traders to provide documentation to prove that imports of each product have been produced without destroying forests, including a declaration with geo-location data.

With three months to go before the intended implementation date, several global entities, including the US Congress and the World Trade Organisation, had raised concerns about the state of preparedness. There was also internal opposition within the EU, with most agriculture ministers, led by Austria, expressing concern, as well as trade associations such as UNIC (Italian Tanneries) and the AF&PA (American Forest and Paper Association).

Image Credits: reuters.com

European Union Environment Legal Organisations