The European regulation to combat deforestation in the world has come under fire from several European chancelleries, including the very influential German one, which are asking the European Commission to delay its entry into force. The measure called Eudr (Regulation on Deforestation-free products), which aims to prevent the entry into our markets of products that derive from the excessive exploitation of forest areas, is accused of being too stringent and of requiring bureaucratic burdens that put the bloc’s companies in difficulty.
The new legislation has faced criticism from several quarters in recent months, with the EU’s trading partners and European industries complaining about the complexity of the new rules, which will require companies to prove that their wood, paper, coffee, cocoa, soya, palm oil, rubber and livestock have not been produced on deforested land.
Several European companies from various sectors, including agriculture and forestry, have called for the law to be postponed, saying they need more time to prepare the traceability and due diligence systems required by the legislation, and are still waiting for the Commission to produce a set of technical documents to guide them in their implementation.
Germany against
The latest to speak out against the regulation was German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who presented a request to the European institutions to postpone the entry into force of the regulation. Speaking at a conference of the Bdzv (German Association of Digital Publishers and Newspapers) in Berlin, he claimed to have personally asked Ursula von der Leyen to suspend the regulation “until the open questions raised are clarified.”
In March, the Bdvz called for action to “mitigate the risks, penalties and burdens on companies posed by the regulation” created by the new law, which is due to come into force on December 30. The statement stressed that the EUDR, in its current form, would pose a significant threat not only to the production of printed materials for the public, but also to key products such as printed paper, election documents, technical documentation, labels and packaging, which are essential resources and services for the functioning of society and the economy.
“Hasty” measure
Designed to combat climate change and halt biodiversity loss, the EUDR could have significant impacts on more than $110 billion in annual trade, impact continents’ economies, and require suppliers to adapt to Europe’s efforts to become greener. Italian coffee producers have also come out against the measure. Andrea Illy, president of Illycaffè, called it a “noble” project and a sign of responsibility by the Union, “whose execution, however, appears too hasty.”
“It is right to put the matter under control”, the Italian entrepreneur told AdnKronos, denouncing that “the implementation of the rule is extremely expensive, especially for exporting countries, which must provide geographic coordinates and require technologies and operating costs beyond their economic reach. It will come into force soon and we do not know if it will be postponed or implemented as is”.
Brazil defends itself
And criticism has also come from the other side of the Atlantic, from the country that symbolizes the planet’s deforestation: Brazil. Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and Agriculture and Livestock Minister Carlos Fávaro have branded the project as “a unilateral and punitive instrument that ignores national laws on the fight against deforestation” and that contains “extraterritorial aspects that contradict the principle of sovereignty”.
