On Wednesday 16 October, the EU Council adopted its position on postponing the date of application of the EU deforestation regulation by 12 months.
This position confirms the European Commission’s proposal (see EUROPE 13495/1). The regulation came into force on 29 June 2023 and must be applied from 30 December 2024. Member States have agreed to postpone the date of application to 30 December 2025 for large operators and retailers and to 30 June 2026 for micro and small businesses.
“This postponement is necessary to ensure that all entities involved in the implementation of the Regulation – Member States’ competent authorities and the private sector – are ready”, stated BusinessEurope, the business representative, in a letter sent to President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola on Tuesday 15 October.
BusinessEurope pointed out that, in order to classify countries according to risk of deforestation, companies will need a benchmarking system to guide them “in their due diligence and risk mitigation actions”.
Stakeholders could therefore benefit from an extra year to identify the risks of deforestation in their supply chains and prove that they are in compliance with EU rules. Products imported into and exported from the EU will have to be manufactured on land not subject to deforestation or forest degradation after 31 December 2020. Products derived from certain commodities (coffee, cocoa, palm oil, soya, rubber and wood), as well as livestock, are affected.
More than 225 civil society organisations from 42 countries have called on the European Parliament and the EU Council to reject the European Commission’s proposal for a postponement, said WWF Europe on Tuesday 15 October. Giulia Bondi of Global Witness pointed out that “a 12-month delay to the law could lead to an area of deforestation fourteen times the size of Paris”.
The European Parliament will now have to decide its position on the postponement of Regulation 2023/1115. (Original version in French by Florent Servia)