The new agriculture spokesperson for the Greens in the European Parliament believes that the enforcement of new EU rules against deforestation can withstand 'a few months' delay'. But Austrian organic farmer Thomas Waitz expressed his opposition to the repeal of the law, which should come into effect in five months.
In the first meeting of the European Parliament's new AGRI agriculture committee, Waitz did not support the position of the European People's Party (EPP) for completely delaying the anti-deforestation law, saying that his "first option" would be to abandon the current ( agreed) timeline. “A few months' postponement to give companies more time for implementation... I have a certain understanding for that,” said Waitz.
Several agriculture ministers from the EU member states oppose the deforestation regulation that has now been adopted. This will come into effect on January 1. There is particular criticism of the risk assessment of goods and products from importing countries. The main goal of the new regulation is to prevent deforestation or forest degradation.
In addition to soy and beef, the regulation also applies to palm oil, coffee, cocoa, wood and rubber. From now on, producers must demonstrate where their products come from. To determine whether soy or beef products are deforestation-free, a company must now complete a due diligence declaration.
Danish Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke wrote a letter to the European Commission urging not to delay the proposal but urging it to quickly finalize the technical systems needed to implement the new import rules.
There is also criticism of the obligation to demonstrate the exact places where raw materials are grown in non-EU countries. This requires collecting enormous amounts of location data. Brussels says that satellite data can be used for this purpose.
Because such classification and registration systems do not yet exist on a country-by-country basis, the EU should treat all producing countries - including the 27 EU countries themselves - equally, in accordance with the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). German Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) warned last month against many bureaucratic efforts, including for European forest owners.
The “very good idea” is “torpedoed by an excessive and impractical application,” says Austrian Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig (ÖVP). Finnish Agriculture Minister Sari Miriam Essayah called for the application to be postponed.
However, numerous environmental protection organizations criticized the actions of the EU agriculture ministers in an open letter. With their behavior they block the 'restoration of nature', an important objective of the Green Deal.