The European Commission on Wednesday (2 October) quietly announced a 12-month delay in the implementation of its EU deforestation regulation – in the wake of immense pressure from the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), industries, and countries affected.
The move, which the commission says will allow it to assist firms and countries to ensure that there is smooth implementation of the law, also follows requests made by international partners during last week’s UN general assembly held in New York.
The regulation which was supposed to enter into force at the end of this year, has faced a series backlash from a range of sectors, third countries and the EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen political group in recent weeks.
The law aims to limit deforestation by requiring companies importing products such as coffee, cocoa, palm oil, rubber, soya and wood to prove that their products have not led to deforestation at any stage of their supply chain. It also covers the leather, chocolate, charcoal and printing industry.
In a public letter addressed to the commission in September, German EPP MEPs Herbert Dorfmann and Peter Liese described the law as a “bureaucratic monster” that should be postponed.
The Brazilian government also fiercely criticised the EU’s plan, calling it a “unilateral and punitive instrument”.
Earlier last month, German chancellor Olaf Scholz raised concerns about the deforestation law and its implications for the newspaper and publishers’ association in Germany, as the rules also apply to printed paper too.
In response to these concerns, the EU commission has extended financial support to a number of nations and industries, most notably the coffee and cocoa markets, which depend on millions of smallholder farmers in South America and sub-Saharan Africa.
If approved by MEPs and EU member states, the law will now only enter into force from 30 December 2025 for the largest companies and 30 June 2026 for micro and small enterprises.
Responding to the news, Green German MEP Anna Cavazzini slammed the move as "a frontal attack on the Green Deal."
"We must now ensure that the postponement does not open Pandora's box and that the law is not weakened," she said in a statement.
Echoing similar concerns, Luciana Tellez-Chavez of the NGO Human Rights Watch accused von der Leyen of having "sabotaged the most significant environmental legislation passed during her previous term".
The "incomprehensible" move "punishes all the companies and EU trading partners who deployed efforts and resources to comply with the EUDR on time," Tellez-Chavez added.