European council and parliament agree on EUDR delay

The European Council has reached a provisional agreement with the European Parliament on a proposed targeted amendment of the EU deforestation regulation (EUDR), postponing its date of application by 12 months. The Indonesian and Malaysian governments and their massive palm oil industries will be pleased to hear the news as they have strongly opposed the regulation since its inception. This provisional agreement still needs to be confirmed by both institutions before going through the formal adoption procedure. “This postponement will allow third countries, member states, operators and traders to be fully prepared in terms of their due diligence obligations, to ensure that certain commodities and products sold in the EU or exported from the EU are deforestation free. This includes products made from cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, rubber and some of their derived products,” said the Council in a statement. The deforestation regulation has already been in force since 29 June 2023 and its provisions are to be applied from 30 December 2024. The two co-legislators agreed to the Commission’s proposal to postpone the application date of the regulation by one year (30 December 2025). “This would give legal certainty, predictability and sufficient time for the smooth and effective implementation of the rules, including fully establishing due diligence systems that cover all relevant commodities and products,” explained the Council. According to the provisional agreement, the targeted amendment will not affect the substance of the existing rules, which aims to minimise the EU’s contribution to deforestation and forest degradation worldwide, by only allowing deforestation-free products to be placed on the EU market or exported from the EU, it added. The provisional agreement will now have to be endorsed by the Council and Parliament. It will then be formally adopted by both institutions and will be published in the Official Journal of the EU so that it can enter into force before the application date of the current regulation (30 December 2024). The delay has been harshly criticised by environmental groups, which see the regulation as a key weapon in the fight against deforestation and climate change. But Indonesia and Malaysia are two nations that welcomed the EU’s proposal to delay the anti-deforestation law, which they had staunchly opposed since its inception. Malaysia and Indonesia are the world’s two leading producers of palm oil, which, given its longstanding links to “widespread rainforest destruction and wildlife loss” in Southeast Asia, was set to come under special scrutiny once the EUDR was in effect. The two nations together account for 85% of global palm oil production. After the law’s enactment, Airlangga Hartarto, Indonesia’s coordinating minister for economic affairs, described the EUDR as a form of “regulatory imperialism.” A senior Malaysian trade official suggested that his country could cease palm oil to the EU entirely. Malaysia’s Palm Oil Council described it as a “victory for common sense,” in a statement the AFP news agency reported at the time. “Malaysia has over the past two years consistently provided evidence… that the implementation date of 30 December 2024 was unworkable, and the EU systems were not ready,” the council said. Indonesia’s palm oil association GAPKI concurred. “We will continue to advocate against regulations that are burdensome or not in accordance with Indonesia’s law,” GAPKI chairman Eddy Martono told Reuters, as reported by The Diplomat current affairs magazine. Airlangga Hartarto, the country’s coordinating minister for economic affairs, said that Jakarta was happy with the delay, but that it believed the legislation should be cancelled altogether. In particular, he expressed opposition to the EU’s country benchmarking on deforestation, which will see the European Commission classify nations as high, standard or low risk in terms of compliance with the EUDR. “It’s not about the delay but the implementing regulations,” Airlangga told the news agency. “The EU has no right to be a rating agency.” The proposed delay was also welcomed by coffee producers in Vietnam, reported The Diplomat.

European council and parliament agree on EUDR delay

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