17/12/2024 (Agence Europe) – The European Parliament postponed the Deforestation Regulation by one year, as negotiated with the EU Council (see EUROPE 13538/1), in a plenary session vote on Tuesday 17 December. 546 MEPs voted in favour of the compromise reached with the EU Council, 97 against and 7 abstained. The rules will now have to be applied from 30 December 2025, instead of 2024. The European Commission had undertaken to reduce the administrative requirements for businesses to address concerns from the European People’s Party (EPP), without changing the rules that were adopted in 2023. Relieved that the text had not been watered down, the Greens/EFA issued a press release describing the postponement as “a disaster for forests and human rights“ and criticising the EPP for “wasting everyone’s time”. (FS)