'A few months' delay' nears for enforcement of EU anti-deforestation law

At the first meeting of the new AGRI Agriculture Committee of the European Parliament, Waitz did not support the European People’s Party (EPP) position to completely postpone the anti-deforestation law, stating that his “first option” would be to maintain the current (agreed) timeline. “A few months’ delay to give companies more time for implementation… I do have some understanding for that,” said Waitz.

Several agricultural ministers from EU member states oppose the now finalized deforestation regulation, which comes into force on January 1. Criticism is mainly targeted at the risk assessment of goods and products from importing countries. The main goal of the new regulation is to prevent deforestation or degradation of forests. 

In addition to soy and beef, the regulation also applies to palm oil, coffee, cocoa, timber, and rubber. Producers will now have to show where their products come from. To determine whether soy or beef products are deforestation-free, companies will be required to complete a due diligence declaration.

Danish Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke wrote a letter to the European Commission urging not to postpone the proposal but instead to quickly finalize the technical systems needed to implement the new import rules. 

There is also criticism of the obligation to demonstrate the exact locations where raw materials are cultivated in non-EU countries. This requires collecting huge amounts of location data. Brussels says satellite data can be used for this purpose.

Because such classification and registration systems do not yet exist separately for each country, the EU would have to treat all producing countries—including the 27 EU countries themselves—equally, according to World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. German Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) warned last month of significant bureaucratic burdens, including for European forest owners.

The “very good idea” is “torpedoed by excessive and impractical application,” said Austrian Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig (ÖVP). Finnish Agriculture Minister Sari Miriam Essayah called for a postponement of the application. 

However, numerous environmental protection organizations criticized the actions of the EU Agriculture Ministers in an open letter. By their behavior, they are blocking the ‘restoration of nature,’ an important objective of the Green Deal.