Nestlé, Ferrero and 50 other major companies have called for no delay in the implementation of the regulation on imported deforestation, according to the Financial Times. Their joint declaration was published on Wednesday 6 November, the deadline for MEPs to table amendments.
On the same day, however, the EPP tabled 15 amendments aimed at extending the deferral to two years instead of one and creating a category of risk-free countries (see EUROPE 13520/10).
Maintaining the text should ensure “stability and clarity for all the companies involved”, said the Carrefour group in a separate statement. Some companies have already begun adapting to the regulation since it came into force in June 2023 and with a view to its entry into force, initially scheduled for 30 December 2024, a year and a half later.
The companies that had signed the declaration emphasised the preparations they had already made to comply. In their view, a delay would lead to legal uncertainty and “instability throughout the supply chain”.
Contacted by Agence Europe, Jonas Sjöstedt (The Left, Swedish) confirmed that the postponement and watering down would represent “a blow not only to the environmental commitments of the Parliament and the Commission, but also to all the companies that support this much-needed regulation and have worked hard to put in place all their due diligence systems”.
These companies, which are “in favour of rapid application”, have told him that a further postponement “is not only unacceptable, but also totally unnecessary”. The postponement still has to be approved by the European Parliament on Thursday 14 November. (Original version in French by Florent Servia)