By Kate Abnett and May Angel
BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) -European Union countries want to delay the bloc’s anti-deforestation law by another year, a draft EU negotiating document showed, as they prepare to rapidly negotiate changes to the law before it is due to be applied next month.
The European Commission last month proposed changes that would loosen the anti-deforestation law for smallholders and businesses, but not delay the world-first green policy.
However, a draft EU negotiating proposal, dated November 10 and seen by Reuters, showed EU countries plan to accept the Commission’s proposed changes, but also push to delay the application of the law to December 30, 2026 for bigger firms, and June 30, 2027 for smaller firms.
For many countries, “the Commission’s proposal alone was not enough”, the draft said.
CRITICS SAY MEASURES BURDENSOME AND COSTLY
The ban on imports of cocoa, palm oil and other commodities linked to forest destruction is a key part of the EU’s green agenda, which is now facing pushback from industries and some governments that say the measures are too burdensome and costly.
It was originally due to take effect from the end of 2024, but Brussels has already delayed it by a year. That has still not quelled complaints from some EU countries, and from trading partners including the United States and Brazil.
Antonie Fountain, head of the VOICE Network which campaigns for cocoa sector reform, said delaying the proposal “drastically undermines the credibility of the EU”, made it difficult to do business in the bloc and would cause even more significant forest loss.
“During the week of COP in Brazil, it couldn’t be more ironic,” he said.
EU countries and the European Parliament are racing to agree a deal on final changes by mid-December, to avoid the law kicking in.
Under the law, known as the EU deforestation regulation, sellers of beef, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soy, rubber and wood into the EU market will need to provide a due diligence statement proving their products do not cause deforestation.
A spokesperson for Denmark, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency and drafted the EU countries’ negotiating document, said it was designed to quickly win countries’ backing so they could negotiate a final deal in time.
“Most Member States don’t want EUDR in its present form to enter into force by the end of the year,” the spokesperson said.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett and May Angel; Editing by Alison Williams and Alex Richardson)
