![EU delays implementation of deforestation regulation [World News]](https://foodcom.pl/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Foodcom_World_News_Global-1520x760.jpg "EU delays implementation of deforestation regulation [World News]")
- The deforestation regulation will cover producers and importers of commodities such as coffee, cocoa, palm oil, soya and meat.
- The new legislation aims to reduce deforestation and forest degradation worldwide.
- EU governments and others have complained to the European Commission about the deadline for businesses to comply with the new rules being too fast.
- Negotiations on 4 December resulted in an agreement to delay the deadline for another year. The European Commission is also to explore options for reducing controls for low-risk countries, such as EU member states.
Deforestation regulations will affect farmers and exporters
The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) aims to regulate activities related to forest degradation and climate change impacts. The new regulation is intended to cover businesses across industries, affecting global supply chains. The main intention of the regulation is to reduce the negative environmental impacts of consumption in the European Union, in particular deforestation and forest degradation. The regulation covers not only wood, but also many other key products, such as cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soya, meat, rubber, chocolate and furniture or leather. According to the regulation, any operator or trader who places these goods on or exports them from the EU market must be able to prove that the products do not originate from recently deforested areas or contribute to forest degradation.
Negotiations to delay changes successfully concluded
Following complaints from EU governments, Brazil, Indonesia and many businesses, the European Commission in October proposed to delay the implementation of Regulation 2023/1115 on trade in products and services related to deforestation and forest degradation. The regulation came into force in June 2023. Initially, traders were supposed to adapt their operations to the new regulation within 18 months, but an agreement was reached on 4 December this year to delay this deadline by one year. Once the proposal is adopted, the law will become effective on 30 December 2025 for large and medium-sized enterprises and 30 June 2026 for micro and small enterprises. The provisions of the regulation were also subject to negotiation, in particular the proposal to introduce ‘low-risk countries’, as EU countries that would be subject to less stringent regulation. However, this demand by EU legislators was rejected. The Commission, however, undertook to assess whether the requirements could be simplified for countries with sustainable forest management practices, and to propose a risk classification of countries.
