The European Commission has proposed to postpone the implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) until 30 December 2025 for large companies and 30 June 2026 for small enterprises. The Commission said since all the implementation tools are technically ready, the extra 12 months can serve as a phasing-in period to ensure proper and effective implementation. “The Commission recognises that three months ahead of the intended implementation date, several global partners have repeatedly expressed concerns about their state of preparedness, most recently during the United Nations General Assembly week in New York,” the Commission said.
The European Parliament and the Council of the EU, representing the 27 member countries, will be required to approve the Commission’s proposed amendment to the regulation before it can become effective.
The British Agriculture Bureau has consistently highlighted the concerns of UK farmers in meeting these burdensome requirements and joined with wider European industry to call for clarity, simplification, and any necessary delay to ensure feasible implementation. While we support the objective of the regulation in addressing global deforestation, this must be done in an effective and pragmatic way, without substantial administrative burdens for countries which have a negligible deforestation risk.
Background:
Under the original EU legislation which aims to reduce deforestation by ensuring that products consumed on the EU market do not contribute to deforestation and forest degradation worldwide should be enforced from 30 December 2024. The regulation introduces mandatory due diligence rules for all operators and traders who place, make available or export the following commodities from the EU market: beef, palm oil, timber, coffee, cocoa, rubber and soy.
The co-legislators set the cut-off date of the new rules as 31 December 2020, meaning that only products that have been produced on land that has not been subject to deforestation or forest degradation after 31 December 2020 will be allowed on the Union market or to be exported.
Businesses of all sizes that trade in the selected products will have to meet stringent due-diligence obligations that trace the products they are selling back to the plot of land where it was produced. The European Commission will establish a bench-marking system which ranks countries according to their risk of deforestation: low, standard and high. While no country or commodity will be banned, companies placing products on the EU market will be obliged to demonstrate that their supply chains are not contributing to deforestation. They can use satellite monitoring tools, field audits, capacity building of suppliers or isotope testing to check where products come from.
Farmers will be required to prove that any beef sold on the EU single market, including in Northern Ireland, has not come from cattle raised on land that was deforested to make space for grazing. They will also have to demonstrate they are not using animal feed that contains soy or palm oil that is driving deforestation abroad.
However, the traceability requirements are unclear and there remains many questions over what information is required and lack of definitions which have not been answered.
Copa Cogeca stated that: "The focus must now shift to addressing the practical challenges associated with the EUDR’s implementation to prevent uncertainties and avoid supply chain disruptions. We will carefully review the guidance document published today and remain committed to further dialogue to ensure workable solutions for all impacted sectors."