MEPs of the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment (ENVI) are calling for a European legal framework establishing a duty of diligence in the EU supply chain to halt and reverse the trend of global deforestation which the EU contributes to through its imports.
On Monday 28 September, they approved 30 compromise amendments, thus completing nearly 600 amendments to the legislative initiative report by Delara Bukhardt (S&D, Germany) (see EUROPE 12519/11).
The Greens/EFA Group are said to have wanted to go further, by imposing a duty of vigilance on all EU companies, including large dams and oil exploitation.
Their amendment calling for the recognition of deforestation as ecocide was also narrowly defeated.
“We were only three votes short” (38 in favour, 41 against), commented Marie Toussaint (Greens/EFA, France). She said she guarantees that these amendments will be retabled in the Parliament's plenary session.
The resolution will be voted on Thursday 1 October in the Committee on the Environment, with a view to a plenary vote on 29 October. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)