The EU regulation to significantly reduce the EU’s contribution to global deforestation and forest degradation has been adopted. The EU Council on Tuesday 16 May without debate formally adopted this pioneering legislation which will impose mandatory due diligence throughout the supply chain (see EUROPE 13078/9, 13165/12).
This means that only products that companies can prove have not contributed to deforestation and forest degradation after 31 December 2020 anywhere in the world can be placed on the EU market or exported from the EU.
In the first instance, the commodities concerned are soybeans, palm oil, livestock, wood, cocoa, coffee and rubber, as well as by-products such as furniture and printed paper. The list of these commodities will be regularly reviewed and updated taking into account new data such as changing deforestation patterns.
Enhanced controls are foreseen and Member States will have to ensure that effective, dissuasive and proportionate sanctions are imposed on offenders.
The regulation will enter into force 20 days after its forthcoming publication in the Official Journal of the EU.
During its adoption, five delegations abstained (Estonia, Latvia, Portugal, Slovakia and Sweden) and entered a statement in the minutes.
With this regulation, the EU intends to assume its responsibilities and hopes to set an example for other countries. However, the text of the regulation is being challenged at the WTO by developing countries as punitive and unfair (see EUROPE 13151/34).
See the regulation: https://aeur.eu/f/6wa
See the statements of 5 EU countries: https://aeur.eu/f/6wb (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)