The political group coordinators for the European Parliament’s Environment Committee, meeting on Monday 7 October, unanimously decided not to put the delay of the Deforestation Regulation’s implementation before the same committee in order to save time.
The European Commission’s proposal to delay application of the text by one year (see EUROPE 13495/1) will therefore be discussed directly in plenary (Article 170(6)), under the urgency procedure (see EUROPE 13497/8).
As well as giving priority to reaching an agreement before the planned 31 December 2024 implementation date, MEPs wanted to “limit the possibility of amendments that would go beyond the modification proposed by the European Commission”, MEP Pascal Canfin (Renew Europe, French) told Agence Europe.
This decision is the lesser evil, according to Sara Matthieu (Greens/EFA, Belgian), who considers the proposed delay “a considerable step backwards for the climate and biodiversity”. Contacted by Agence Europe, the Greens/EFA coordinator conceded that “sending the legislation back to committee would have been an even more serious mistake, as it could have weakened the legislation”. In her view, “there is no reason to open the door to further changes”.
Even Peter Liese (EPP, German), who pushed for a delay of the text in recent months (see EUROPE 13441/20), supported this decision, but only because the timetable was too tight. He would have considered it “useful” to amend the regulation “in a targeted way”, not affecting its “substance” but enabling “certain improvements to be gained, in particular for small forest owners and farmers inside and outside Europe”, he told Agence Europe on Monday 7 October, ahead of the discussion with the political coordinators.
It remains to be seen whether the positions adopted by Parliament in plenary session and by the EU Council will leave the legislation unscathed. (Original version in French by Florent Servia)