Setback for Green Deal: von der Leyen proposes one-year delay on deforestation bill

Brussels – One more year for the EU deforestation regulation to come into force: In the end, Ursula von der Leyen yields to pressure from her party, several European chancelleries and international partners and takes a new step back on her first-term Green Deal trademark as head of the European executive. Under the proposal presented today (Oct. 2) by the European Commission, the law’s implementation will slip for large companies from Dec. 30, 2024, to Dec. 30, 2025, and for micro and small ones to the following summer.

The EPP had called it “a bureaucratic monster,” Italy’s Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, had called for its postponement, and global partners such as Brazil and Indonesia had sounded the alarm about their readiness. Specifically, the provision called EUDR (Regulation on Deforestation-free Products) aims to prevent the entry into the single market of products derived from the overexploitation of forested areas. To do so, it imposes greater control of its supply chain on companies, matched by a significant increase in bureaucratic burdens.

The tightening affects palm oil, wood, beef, and rubber, as well as several associated materials, such as leather, chocolate, furniture, printed paper, and coal. For the first time, the regulation holds importing companies accountable for their supply chain: it will be up to them to collect accurate geographic information on the farmlands where they produce what they source (including through satellite imagery). Instead, member states must ensure sanctions against companies that fail to comply with the legislation.

“In light of the feedback received from international partners on their state of readiness, the Commission proposes to give stakeholders additional time to prepare,” the EU executive announced. Brussels “recognises that, three months before the planned implementation date, several global partners have repeatedly expressed concerns“—most recently, in order of time, during the week of the UN General Assembly in New York. Not only that: “Even in Europe, the state of preparedness of stakeholders is uneven,” the European Commission admits.

With an extra year at its disposal, Brussels believes it can ensure “a smooth implementation from the start” by operators worldwide. At the same time, the EU Commission has unveiled new guidelines to provide “additional clarity” for companies and regulators to facilitate enforcement. The guidance covers a wide range of issues, such as legality requirements, application timing, agricultural use, and clarification of product scope.

The new time horizon also serves the Commission itself, which is “intensifying dialogues with most of the countries concerned” for drafting the national benchmarking system, by which countries from which products arrive will be classified as “low, standard, or high risk.” The goal is to facilitate due diligence processes by European companies and enforcement by the relevant authorities. The Commission stated that “most countries in the world will be classified as low risk”.

If the European Parliament and member states approve the Commission’s proposed postponement, the law will be applicable on Dec. 30, 2025, for large enterprises and June 30, 2026, for micro and small enterprises. The latter will also benefit from a lighter regime. Harsh comment from Greenpeace: “European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has condemned the world’s forests to another year of destruction because of European consumption.”