Negotiators for the European Parliament and EU member states have provisionally agreed on delaying the implementation of the EU's 2023 deforestation regulation by one year.
Fast-track adoption can now take place with a plenary vote expected on 16-19 December and later approval by EU ministers.
The EU's council of ministers noted that the provisional agreement does not affect the substance of the existing deforestation rules. The final text, provisionally agreed, does not retain a "no risk" category, put forward by parliament's largest centre-right EPP party. Parliament had narrowly accepted the EPP proposal for the "no risk" category.
Backing down on the amendment now allows the EU to proceed to EUDR adoption and publication in the bloc's official journal before the end of the year. Due diligence obligations set by the EU's 2023 deforestation regulation require operators and traders to ensure listed commodities and derived products, sold in or exported to the EU are "deforestation-free". Products include those made from cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee and rubber.
The European Commission said it aims to finalise the country benchmarking system "as soon as possible but no later than 30 June 2025". And an information system where firms register due diligence statements will enter into operation on 4 December.
Parliament's lead negotiator for the deforestation law, Christine Schneider, also pointed to a commitment by the commission to an "impact assessment and further simplification" for low risk countries or regions. "From 2028, countries practising sustainable forest management and showing no deforestation will have the opportunity to be exempted from unnecessary red tape," said Schneider, a member of the German centre-right EPP.
The Centre-left S&D group said the system of "no risk" countries would have created an "unfair double standard", dividing EU member states into different risk categories. Negotiators firmly rejected this approach, the group said.
"It was clear all along that their half-baked amendment proposals had no chance of success with the council and the commission," said Delara Burkhardt, German S&D negotiator for the deforestation law.
Citing reasons of legal certainty, EU states quickly came out in favour of just a one year delay, agreeing with the commission's original proposal. Speaking to parliament on 3 December, the EU's director general for trade Sabine Weyand said robust commitments to halt deforestation in South America, as of 2030, and to ensure adherence to the Paris climate Agreement, are also "essential" elements of the EU's free trade agreement (FTA) with Mercosur countries — Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and now Bolivia.
