Nineteen EU countries have asked the European Commission to start a process of “simplification” of the EU deforestation law and further postpone its implementation in a letter seen by Euronews on Monday.
“We urge the European Commission to swiftly include the Deforestation Regulation in its simplification plans in order to ensure coordinated and effective implementation of the EUDR across the EU,” the letter said.
The communique was signed by the agriculture ministers of Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden.
The European Commission has over the past few weeks already presented a range of simplification packages to amend pieces of legislation approved by the first Ursula von der Leyen Commission in the 2019-2024 mandate.
These packages targeted the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, as well as pieces of legislation related to the European Common Agricultural Policy, and the defence sector.
“Pending the Commission’s simplification proposals, it might be advisable to further postpone the date of application of the regulation,” the letter also read.
A spokesperson for the European Commission told reporters on Monday that they had not yet “located” the letter, adding however that the EU’s executive has “done also a lot of effort already to simplify the regulation and the work, in a way, is still ongoing”.
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is a law aimed at reducing the EU’s impact on global deforestation.
It entered into force in June 2023 and classifies countries according to their risk of deforestation in the production of seven commodities: cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya, and wood.
The European Commission decided to postpone its implementation to 30 December 2025 for large and medium-sized companies, and to 30 June 2026 for micro and small companies, following pressure from member states.
In the letter, the signatory member states claim that the obligations placed on farmers, forest owners, and operators by the regulation are overly burdensome, especially for countries with little or no deforestation risk.
They argue that the requirements are disproportionate to the regulation’s goal of preventing deforestation and result in higher costs for both businesses and governments.
The rules, the member states say, may also drive up raw material and production costs, increasing the risk that producers will move operations outside the EU.
Criticism by civil society
Civil society organisations have accused some EU lawmakers — including both member states and MEPs — of repeatedly attempting to undermine the legislation.
Hannah Mowat, campaigns coordinator at Fern, told Euronews that there is a disconnect between the political and technical levels. “Competent authorities in many EU countries, including some that have signed this letter, say they are ready to implement the law,” she said.
The signatories of the letter also undermined the concept of “degradation of forests”, a phenomenon rising in Europe, Mowat explained.
“The agriculture ministers’ letter states that European tree cover is rising, but ignores that Europe’s forests are increasingly degraded. Tree farms are not forests, and across Germany, Austria, and more, large monoculture plantations have already collapsed due to disease, drought and overexploitation,” Mowat told Euronews.
“The EUDR would bring much-needed scrutiny to the monoculture model by requiring that forest products be legally produced and not contribute to the degradation of forests in Europe and abroad,” she concluded.
“This proposal is not a simplification, but rather a complication for all involved parties – including companies, who will be faced with a lack of legal clarity, further delays in the application of the law, and more burdens for those that have already set up systems for compliance” Anke Schulmeister-Oldenhove, WWF Europe manager on forests, told Euronews.
“While paying lip service to stopping deforestation, ministers are in reality undermining one of the EU’s flagship environmental laws, and turning a blind eye to the increasing deforestation rates globally and the impacts of climate change in the EU,” she added.
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