Stakeholders and NGOs mount pressure on Commission on anti-deforestation rules implementation 

Food and agriculture stakeholders are asking the European Commission to finalise the details of the EU’s deforestation regulation while a group of agriculture ministers seek a postponement, a move opposed by NGOs and ruled out by the Commission for now.  

At the Sustainable Palm Oil Dialogue (SPOD), organised by industry associations and held in Brussels on Wednesday (22 May), stakeholders expressed concern about their ability to comply with the EU’s Deforestation and Forest Degradation Regulation (EUDR) on time.  

“Despite the fact that the legislation will come into force on 30 December, we need to be ready a few months earlier,” said Caroline Westerik-Sikking, director of sustainability at the Swedish giant of vegetable oils AAK. 

Under the EUDR – which came into force in June last year – companies that place soy, beef, palm oil, timber, cocoa, coffee, or rubber on the EU market must be able to prove that the products do not come from recently deforested areas or have not contributed to forest degradation.

That obligation for operators and traders will apply after a transition period starting from 30 December 2024. The guidelines for operators were expected by spring. 

Industry representatives have been raising concerns at the delay, leading to speculation about a possible postponement in the implementation of the rules. 

Speaking at the SPOD event on Wednesday, Astrid Ladefoged, head of unit at the Commission’s Environment Directorate General, ruled out that possibility. 

“The [implementation] date is in the regulation,” she reminded the audience, adding that it had been agreed by EU co-legislators, the Parliament and member states.  

A Commission spokesperson told Euractiv the executive is working on “further guidance on aspects of the Regulation and is helping stakeholders further in their ongoing preparation work. It will be published in June 2024.” 

Around 20 EU agriculture ministers currently support the calls to delay the EUDR’s implementation, citing concerns over its administrative burden on national authorities and affected businesses.  

“This is the attitude of farm ministers,” an EU diplomat told Euractiv, but the environment ministers, who oversee the dossier, “see things in a different light”. 

Concerns over digital platform  

In a letter sent to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 17 May, a coalition of associations from the entire food chain said the Information Technology (IT) system for operators to prove compliance with the regulation’s requirements was not yet fit for purpose.  

The EUDR’s digital platform is an essential part of the implementation mechanism as it is a repository for the due diligence statements submitted by operators and traders to comply with the regulation’s requirements.  

“This central element of the regulation is critical for the successful application of the EUDR and we are increasingly concerned that it might become its Achilles heel,” the letter said. 

According to industry representatives, the timeline for making the information system available to all operators raises “serious concerns”. 

NGOs warn of no time to waste 

Also last week, 25 Brazilian NGOs called on the EU executive to express “unconditional support” for anti-deforestation rules in a letter sent to von der Leyen. 

“This groundbreaking regulation is the most ambitious legislative attempt to tackle [deforestation] worldwide,” they said in the letter, adding that stepping back on the EUDR would discredit the EU’s commitments to fighting climate change.  

[Edited by Angelo Di Mambro and Zoran Radosavljevic]

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