First the decision to delay it, then the decision to stuff it with changes to make it less effective. The law against deforestation, which was approved by the European Parliament in the previous legislature, continues to come under attack. Designed to protect the forests of territories outside the European Union, such as the Amazon, the regulation impacts industries and importers of a series of products, such as cocoa, coffee, soy, rubber, wood and beef. The sabotage perpetrated by the European centre-right, in addition to creating a political crisis, is causing serious difficulties for numerous industries, which have opposed further delays and changes.
Nonetheless, the European People’s Party (EPP), to which Forza Italia belongs, has decided to continue with its strategy, with the risk of causing serious damage, both to consumers, who would prefer to buy products that are not the result of the destruction of trees, and to industries, forced to operate in uncertainty. The vote on 14 September in the European Parliament in Brussels will be decisive. Both for operators in the sector and for the political survival of the new Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen.
What is the EU regulation on deforestation for?
Cocoa, coffee, soy, but also rubber, wood for furniture and beef. All things often present in our daily lives, but which come from distant countries, such as Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia. Places where, in many cases, hundreds of hectares of forests are deforested to obtain these raw materials, essential for mitigating the effects of climate change and for the well-being of local populations.
In 2023 a specific regulation (Eudr) was approved by the European Union to prevent products resulting from deforestation from arriving in our homes. The rule provides for a gradual series of monitoring operations by producers and importers, so that, for example, the cocoa that becomes the chocolate in our favorite bars complies with certain criteria and it is not necessary to cut down other trees to obtain it.
From meat to coffee: so we can know if the products consumed cause deforestation
A complex system, but the main industries in the various sectors involved had worked to put it into practice. However, in October the European Commission decided to postpone the entry into force of the law by a year. The European People’s Party, paradoxically the main party to have proposed and voted for it, considers it a chaotic law and a “bureaucratic monster”. The official reason, given by both the EPP MEPs and the EU executive to justify the delay, is to facilitate the work of the industries, but the picture that emerges is very different.
Industry criticism of the postponement of the regulation
In a joint statement, Nestlé, Michelin and more than 50 other companies said the EU’s decision to delay the deforestation law is causing uncertainty across businesses, also putting investments at risk. Among the companies most irritated by the delay is Michelin, which has long underlined how the regulation guarantees “traceability and provides tangible evidence of the non-deforested nature” of its rubber.
“Today the Group regrets the late announcement – less than 3 months before the implementation of this regulation – of a possible 12-month postponement and a certain form of improvisation in the implementation of such a burdensome regulation”, wrote the company in a note released on October 18th. “Michelin believes that this decision penalizes the entire rubber industry, including small farmers, as well as the competitiveness of large European companies,” the text continues.
Like other companies, since June 2023, the company recalled that it has invested “considerable human and financial resources to geolocate millions of plots of rubber trees to guarantee the conformity of its products” and “avoid any interruptions in supply on the European market “. An effort that could prove in vain on November 14th.
What are the latest changes on deforestation
Despite assurances that the vote in the chamber would be limited to confirming the one-year postponement, the EPP, in agreement with far-right groups, took advantage of this to fill the text with amendments. The new changes plan to delay the law by two years, instead of one. Then there is the proposal to create a new category of “risk-free” country, in addition to the already foreseen ones of low, high and standard risk, which would exempt some states from any control.
Finally, the new text asks to exempt all traders from the rules. In essence, the burden of controls would fall only on those at the beginning of the supply chain, freeing large importing companies from controls. Overall, the scope of the law, already weakened compared to the original version, would be weak and almost certainly ineffective. And those who have already invested in offering more sustainable products would be penalized. Money spent needlessly.
Companies against the changes
The EPP’s move was criticized by many companies. They fear that reopening to the changes will create further uncertainty. “We were not ready for these changes, the agreement with the political groups was to limit themselves to the postponement of a year. At the last second they asked us to work on the amendments”, a source who works for a lobby in Brussels involved in negotiations.
The Ferrero group also turned up its nose at further changes. Francesco Tramontin, vice president of global public affairs at Ferrero, said we need to “avoid the potential reopening of the regulation” in order to protect companies for actions already taken and induce them to invest more in sustainable practices.
Various companies have assured that their suppliers have already taken steps to comply with the new EU rules. “We encourage policymakers to maintain its basic framework without reopening it,” he said Financial Times Bart Vandewaetere, on behalf of Nestlé Europe. Also opposing the delay are Mars, Unilever and the Carrefour supermarket chain.
Who wants to dismantle the law against deforestation
So who benefits from delays and changes? Importers of soya and palm oil are behind the requests to the Commission and MEPs. What frightened many of these companies was the serious delay with which the EU executive provided the guidelines for the regulation. The Green MEP, Bas Eickhout, had denounced at a press conference that the documents had been ready since the summer, but that Ursula von der Leyen would have kept them in a drawer waiting to know the outcome of the elections. Some lobbies also anonymously confirmed this circumstance.
The ministers of 18 exporting countries also insisted on the postponement, sending a letter to the Commission, arguing that the one-year delay was not enough for their companies. Leading this group is Brazil, leader among the Latin American countries with which the EU is also negotiating the fundamental Mercosur treaty. A favor on forests could facilitate a rapid favorable conclusion of negotiations by the G20 in Rio on 18 November.
The political crisis behind the forest law
More than external pressures, however, the greatest weight in this affair was played by the plots of political power in Brussels. In this second legislature led by von der Leyen, the EPP should officially govern alongside socialists and liberals, with external support from the Greens. In reality, an alternative majority has emerged, supported by ultra-right groups, who constitute the so-called “Venezuela majority”. It is the latter that could vote unitedly in favor of the two-year postponement and the other changes, “thus triggering a crisis among the official government allies.
“This vote is much more important than the EU regulation on deforestation: it is a test of whether historically pro-EU conservatives and far-right Eurosceptic groups can form an alternative majority in Parliament. This would send shock waves through all EU institutions and would constitute a warning for any future vote on environmental or broader issues”, denounced the managers of Fern, the main NGO active in the defense of forests. The consequences, at this point in the vote, they could even overwhelm all the members of the new European Commission, which expects to be confirmed en bloc the week of November 25th, as well as trees, many heads could fall.
